Shinobi, Heart Under Blade
by mistressinwaiting
Summary: At the beginning of Shippuden, the Elders send Sakura off as a hunter nin to her death as a way to weaken Tsunade's political powers. Sakura agrees but what she didn't know was that Orochimaru's involved! What did she get herself into? FULL SUMMARY INSIDE
1. Episode 1

-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, the Elders send Sakura off as a hunter-nin, wishing for her death as a way to weaken Tsunade's political powers. Sakura agrees to prove them wrong, but what she didn't know was that Orochimaru's involved! Oh, god… Just what did she get herself into?

* * *

**OMG, this is my twelfth fanfiction! Yay me! But I should really try to finish the other ones, though… The only one that I actually finished was _Passion_. Oh dear, what should I do? I have so many ideas in my head… Oh well, who cares? At the very least, I won't be bored. Plus, this is my first fanfic that crosses over with a fanfic with NaruHina as the main couple! Yay! I've always thought that couple was cute… And I've always wanted to write a fanfic in my version of how _Shippuden_ should go. So, yeah, anyway, this fanfic is based more on the manga than the anime though you'll see some filler anime episodes in here, and this fanfic is named after the Japanese ninjutsu romance film of the same name, just for those who were wondering. It coincides with my _Shinobi, Mirrorcle World _fanfic, but this one is more about SasuSaku than NaruHina, just for you SasuSaku fans! Please enjoy!**

* * *

_You left in the morning. Tonight, my heart is in a thousand pieces._

_Why are you far away?_

_Thinking of you, I go to the hillside and wander._

_The hillside—why is it so saddening?_

_Yellow of dandelions, the shepherd's purse blooming white…_

_There's no one to look at them._

_A pheasant calls and calls without stopping._

_I had a friend. We lived with a river between us._

* * *

Episode One

~Her Mission, The Elders' Proposal~

"You're getting better at this," Tsunade said, glancing over at the training field. It looked as if multiple earthquakes had strike the place! "Naruto will certainly be in for a surprise when he returns."

Sakura smiled. If she hadn't made any progress then all of her training would have been for naught. To hear that she did improve, she was glad. Perhaps now she can be of more assistance to him in their upcoming missions…

"Now, let's review… I trust that you will not disappoint me."

"Hai, Tsunade-shisou!"

They would always review during every single training session, every single sparring session… They did it often, but Sakura did not mind. She knew Tsunade was simply repeating herself ,so it would be always fresh in her mind.

"Very well, then… As the medical ninja of your team—"

"I'm the cornerstone of the team—the backbone, the key."

"If you go down—"

"My whole team goes down."

"If you take a hit—"

"Then there is no one to heal my teammates. For that reason, I must train myself to never get hit. I can't afford it, and neither can my teammates."

"So . . ." Tsunade said, voice raised and arms crossed. She never took her eyes off of her apprentice, wanting to make sure the Haruno did not hesitate with her answers. "If you must _never_ be hit then where does that leave you?"

"I must dodge!"

Tsunade smiled. Her apprentice had learned fast, faster than even Shizune had. She was proud of her student. Sakura had excellent chakra control, fantastic mobility, and had picked up the principles of both the medical jutsu she had been instructed on and the near inhuman chakra-enhanced strength that was Tsunade's trademark. As she launched herself at the girl again, she wondered how she'd fair this time.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Tsunade-sama!"

"What is it, Shizune?" Tsunade asked, signaling for Sakura that their sparring session was now over.

"The Elders want to speak with you," the ebony-haired woman replied.

"What? _Again_?" The Hokage scratched her head. She had had enough headaches from those old geezers. "Well, I'm sure it can wait. I'm training with Sakura right now."

"I've already told them so," Shizune explained. "But they won't listen to me!"

Tsunade let out an exasperated sigh and groaned. "_Fine_!" she said. "Wonder what it could be this time… Sakura!"

"Hai?"

"I expect that jutsu to be perfected in two days tops!"

"Hai!"

But as Tsunade left, Sakura couldn't help but wonder what was going on. The Elders had been calling Tsunade to their office more and more often nowadays. Was there some kind of diplomatic problem with another one of the ninja villages?

"Come on, Sakura."

"_Huh_?" She glanced at her superior.

"You must be as worried as I am about her, aren't you?" Shizune asked her.

Sakura nodded her head. "But why do the Elders want to see Tsunade-shisou?"

"I don't know," the ebony-haired woman sighed. "But lately the Elders got the idea in their heads that Tsunade might have been growing politically stronger…"

Sakura didn't say anything on that matter. _So that was what was going on…_ The Elders had always disliked her mentor, but Sakura had thought that they were only calling her to just plainly annoy her. She had never expected something like _this_! She knew fully well that, if the Elders thought Tsunade was getting stronger politically, they probably thought she could override any of their decisions, and _that_ pose a threat to their power.

"Come on…"

"Huh?"

"We're Tsunade's pupils," Shizune explained. "And if _she's_ in trouble then we'll soon be involved too. Besides, I want to make sure she's not in any danger."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"What is it that you two want?" Tsunade asked, trying to be polite. She hated every minute she had to spend talking to these two. "I hope it's not about what my position ensures and what not. We've already gone over it about—let's see—_twenty_ times over these last two weeks."

"Calm down, Tsunade." Homura, the male Elder, said. "We did not call you here to talk to you about that. There are more pressing matters."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. _Ha! More pressing matters my ass! _"What is it?"

"With the number of criminals and rate of crime increasing, Kiri's hunter-nin have had their hands full for a quite some time." Koharu, the female Elder, said. "Our relationship with Kiri has been well-off in the past. However, as Uchiha Sasuke is in the Bingo Book, we believe Kiri and even the other ninja villages might try and finish him off by themselves."

Tsunade was now thoroughly confused. _Since when did those two give a damn about the Uchiha?_

"We fear that the sharingan might fall into the wrong hands," Homura continued. "As such, we believe we should train our own shinobi to be hunter-nin."

"But we are already short on shinobi because of the war with Oto," Tsunade said. "We do not have the capacity to create such a team."

"We know," Koharu retorted calmly, folding her hands on her lap.

"Then _why_…?"

"Your apprentice has excelled in her training far quicker than we had expected," Homura explained.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. _Just where are they going with this?_

"Her medical knowledge has greatly increased within these past few months…" Koharu added. "Her profile fits that of which a hunter-nin is, and—"

Tsunade slammed her fist onto the table. "_Unacceptable_!" she yelled. "You expect me to send my apprentice off on that mission? She's not even sixteen yet! How could you suggest something like that?"

"Tsunade, as Hokage, you cannot be biased," Koharu said. "If the sharingan falls into the wrong hands—"

"Oh, don't give me any of your excuses!" Tsunade snapped. "You don't give a _damn_ about that! You're just trying to protect yourselves by weakening my position!"

"_Tsunade_!" Homura's voice rose. "How dare you make such an accusation! We are only doing what's best for the village! If the sharingan indeed falls into the wrong hands then Konoha will be in danger. It's already in Orochimaru's. We do not need it to get any worse. We need to send our own shinobi out into the field. However, the only one capable of such of job is your apprentice, Haruno Sakura. Not only is she capable as a shinobi, but she possesses knowledge of the human anatomy."

"But even if I send her off on such a mission, she would not be able to finish off the Uchiha." Tsunade argued. "What use would—"

"We do not expect her to actually go against him in battle." Koharu stated.

"_. . . What_?"

"We just want to even the playing field a bit."

"_What_?" That came out more as a snarl.

"We have already sent this proposal to Kiri." Homura clarified. "They have agreed to leave Uchiha Sasuke to us. They won't touch him and will relay any information of him to us so long as we have at least _one_ hunter-nin in the field."

"And you expect to send my apprentice off on this . . . this suicide mission? _By herself_?" Tsunade was furious. "Find someone else!"

"We've already told you, Tsunade," Koharu said. "Haruno Sakura is the best candidate for such a position. There _is_ no one else."

"We are prepared to strip you of your status if our terms are not met with, Tsunade." Homura added.

"_Fine_! Go ahead and indict me!" Tsunade yelled. "There's no way I'd go along with—"

"The choice is not _yours_, Tsunade."

"You two!" Koharu had turned her attention towards the closed door. "Get in here!"

Slowly, the door to the office opened, and in came Shizune and Sakura. The ebony-haired woman seemed to have turned her body slightly to the side as if to defend her junior. Tsunade's eyes widened once she saw them.

"I was the one who decided to listen in on the conversation," Shizune explained to the Elders. "Punish me but not Sakura."

"We'll leave that up to Tsunade," Homura said, his eyes glaring at the two for disturbing their privacy. "But right now, there are more important matters to discuss. I trust you heard everything by the door, am I correct, Haruno-san?"

Sakura nodded her head once.

"Then we will not repeat ourselves," Koharu said. "Haruno-san, your mission is to empty the Bingo Book. Will you or will you not take this mission?"

". . . If it's for the sake of the village," Sakura answered with eyes filled with determination, "how could I refuse?"

Shizune glanced back her, shocked.

"_NO_!" Tsunade roared, jumping up from her seat. "I WON'T ALLOW IT!"

"The girl has already given us her opinion," Homura said. "There is no going back now."

"Haruno-san, we will give you until your teammate, Uzumaki Naruto, returns from his training with Jiraiya to prepare yourself." Koharu explained. "After that, I do not wish to see you in the village. This meeting is adjourned."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"I WON'T ALLOW THIS!" Tsunade screamed, slamming her hands onto her desk. "SAKURA, YOU'RE _NOT_ GOING ON THAT MISSION!"

"But, shisou!" Sakura argued. "If I don't then they'll—"

"I DON'T CARE WHAT THEY DO TO _ME_!" Tsunade yelled. "Sakura, you're only _fourteen_! For them to send you on this mission, they're just desperate to weaken my political power! Now that they know they're able to send _you_ away, who's next? _Shizune_? _Ino_? They'll probably try and keep Naruto stuck in this village once he returns!"

"Shisou, please—"

"Sakura, you're not going on this mission! Even if it _is_ for my sake! That's _final_!"

"Shisou, I'm not just doing it for your sake!" Sakura said. "If I don't go, they might turn their attention to Shizune! You _need_ her with you! She's the only one who can get you through your paperwork and political duties! If she's gone then the Elders have won! I won't watch that happen nor will I allow it!"

"Sakura, _please_…" Shizune pleaded, putting her hand on the kunoichi's shoulder. "You need to think this through. The Elders aren't sending you off on this mission because they think you're capable of accomplishing it. They want you _dead_. This is a suicide mission! "

"Then help me train so that I can prove those old geezers wrong!" Sakura said.

"We can't train you to kill someone," Tsunade said. "That's something you need to accomplish on your own. I won't have you taint your hands with those criminals'—those _demons'_—blood!"

"Then train me to at least be strong enough to defeat them!" Sakura yelled. "I've already told you before: I want to be strong like Naruto so that I can help bring Sasuke back! This . . . this could be seen as a blessing!"

Silence…

"Tsunade-shisou, _please_… How else will I know if I became stronger? I'm always protected because I'm weak. Please, reconsider…"

"Heh…" Tsunade threw her head back. "If you say it like that then I can see things in your point of view…" She let out a wry chuckle. "But being a hunter-nin's not easy… Sakura, you won't be able to return home for long periods of time—for months or even _years_… Do you know that?"

". . . Hai…" Sakura's eyes shifted in another direction so that her mentor could not see the sorrow in her eyes.

"Knowing that, you'd _still_ take this mission?" Tsunade asked, an eyebrow raised. She sat back down in her seat.

"If it's for the sake of those close to me then, of course, I'd do _anything_!"

Tsunade let out a sigh then. "Shizune…" she said. "Go get Kakashi."

"But, Tsunade-sama—"

"There's no way I'll send my apprentice into danger without first getting training from one of the best ANBU in the village," the Hokage said, much to Sakura's delight.

"Arigato, shisou!" the cherry blossom said, hugging her mentor.

"But don't think that means you can shirk your medical training with me, young lady! I still expect you here from seven in the morning to at least _two_ in the afternoon!"

"_Hai_!"

* * *

_Smoke rises, the west wind blowing so hard in the fields of bamboo grass and sedge, __it doesn't linger._

_I had a friend. We lived with a river between us._

_Not even the birds call out hororo._

_You left in the morning. Tonight my heart is in a thousand pieces._

_Why are you so far away?_

_By the image of Amida[1], I light no candle and offer no flowers._

_I sit here alone, my heart heavy, filled with gratitude._

* * *

**Arigato = thank you**

**Hai = yes**

**Hororo = [birds' chirping]**

**Kiri = Mist (as in Kirigakure = The Hidden Village in the Mist)**

**Shisou = master (as in teacher)**

**[1] = Amitābha, an important Buddha in East Asian Buddhism**

**Yay! I'm finished with this chapter! Tell me what you think of it so far in your reviews, kay? Oh, and the poem in here is by Buson, a famous Haiku author.**


	2. Episode 2

-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, the Elders send Sakura off as a hunter-nin, wishing for her death as a way to weaken Tsunade's political powers. Sakura agrees to prove them wrong, but what she didn't know was that Orochimaru's involved! Oh, god… Just what did she get herself into?

* * *

**Yay, another chapter! But you guys, if you read my _Shinobi, Mirrorcle World _fanfic already then you know this chapter coincides with _Mirrorcle World_'s 1st and 2nd chapters. For those who don't know, there's a lot of skipping in this chapter because I know you all know what happens. Thank you and please enjoy!**

* * *

_"It's been about two and a half years…"_

_"Indeed…"_

Episode Two

~His Return ~ His Fellow Jinchūriki, Her Fellow Medic~

The knucklehead dropped his backpack onto the ground and jumped onto a pole, just enjoying the feeling of the wind against his body. Boy, was he glad to be home!

His mentor chuckled. "He's certainly cheerful today, isn't he?"

"Alright! It hasn't changed one bit!" the boy yelled, glancing over the village. Suddenly, he caught sight of a new craving. He laughed. "So they've added Old Lady Tsunade's ugly old mug to the mountain? Ha!"

"You've grown a lot, haven't you, Naruto?"

The boy turned around and smiled, jumping over to the rooftop. "Kakashi-sensei! You haven't changed at all!" Once he landed, he reached into his pocket. "Oh, yeah, I've got a present for you!"

"_Really_?" Kakashi asked, wondering what the knucklehead had in stored for him. He could always expect something unexpected from that idiot.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Sakura?"

"Yes?"

"That Naruto kid… It seems that he's returned to Konoha."

"Oh? Really?" Though she was smiling, her voice had a hint of sadness in them. The young kunoichi turned her eyes back to the window. "That's great…" _But that doesn't mean that I'll be able to spend any time with him… I'll have to leave soon…_

Tsunade saw her apprentice's face and sighed. She never liked seeing people down in the dumps especially Sakura. "I'll speak to the Elders," she said. "I'll try to see if they'll allow you to go on a mission with him."

A smile ran through Sakura's face. "Arigato, Tsunade-shisou."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"_What_?" Kakashi was truly in shock, Naruto's present in his hands. "Th-this… You… How…? This . . . this is…"

"This is the latest in the Icha-Icha series after three years!" Naruto finished his former sensei's sentence, smiling at his teacher's face. "It's really boring, but you'll still like it! I think…"

_Idiot… _Jiraiya crossed his arms and sulked. _A kid like you wouldn't understand the _beauty_ of that book… It's still an unreleased rare item too…_

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Right! Next stop, straight to Ichiraku ramen!"

And as Naruto started off running, he left his two teachers behind. It would seem some things would never change nor would Naruto ever tire of his ramen obsession.

"As promised," Jiraiya said once Naruto was out of earshot. "I'll leave Naruto back into your care, but I fear that the Akatsuki has been growing impatient… They may make an attempt on Naruto soon… I'm going to head around and gather as much information as I can."

"I expected as much," Kakashi said, prying his eyes away from his new book. "But I have something to speak to you about."

"What is it?"

"I'm sure Tsunade will speak to you about it soon, but I just wanted to get it off of my chest." Kakashi said, a fatherly tone in his voice. "The Elders are sending Sakura off on an ANBU's mission by herself."

"And you want me to check in on her every now and then?"

"Yes, if you could…"

Jiraiya sighed. "It'll be cutting into my time, but sure. I'll take care of the cherry blossom for ya. But if I could ask, why are the Elders sending her off? Surely, they could send someone else—someone more suitable for the job and someone who's not as young… She's just a girl! Why would they send _her_?"

"They fear that Tsunade has gotten more powerful politically in the past couple of years," Kakashi explained.

"And they want to keep an eye on the most powerful ninja in her arsenal, is that so?"

"Yes. With Sakura out of the way, Naruto's completely unaware of anything that goes on within Konoha's political scrutiny. But I fear that the Elders might not stop with just sending Sakura away."

"You think they might get rid of her?"

"The Elders have been rumored to do so when it comes to securing their power. They're getting greedy… They'll turn to drastic measures soon."

"_AHH_!" Naruto's scream brought the two out of their conversation. "Sakura-chan!"

"Eh? _Naruto_?" And on the girl's first observation of her teammate, she found something appalling. "You've . . . you've gotten taller than me?" she asked him.

"Huh?" Naruto glanced at her and smiled. "I guess I did!" But just to make sure, he started measuring himself.

Sakura giggled at his antics. _Hm… Naruto, you've become really strong since I last saw you, right? I won't have to worry . . . right?_

"Naruto-niichan!" And Konohamaru appeared in his sexy jutsu form, phasing Kakashi and Jiraiya. But once Konohamaru released the jutsu, Naruto just chuckled.

"Konohamaru," he said. "I'm sorry, but I'm not a kid anymore. From now on, you shouldn't use that jutsu either."

Sakura, though a bit surprised, smiled. _So…_ she thought, _you haven't just matured in appearance. That makes me a bit sad… You really have become amazing, Naruto… I'm sure you've come back with a lot of great jutsu too, right?_

"Such a jutsu is now mediocre!" Naruto suddenly yelled, almost angrily. "Behold! The _new_ perverted ninjutsu I've been developing! Here we go!"

_Right, like some . . ._ "PERVERTED JUTSU! YOU _IDIOT_!" Sakura's fist collided with Naruto's face, and he went flying. And once he landed, she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and shook him like crazy. "I WAS WRONG!" she screamed, tears almost coming out of her eyes. "YOU HAVEN'T CHANGED ONE _BIT_! I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU FOR TWO YEARS AND, WITHIN TWO _MINUTES_, YOU JUMP STRAIGHT TO THAT! YOU _IDIOT_! HOW AM I _NOT_ SUPPOSED TO WORRY ABOUT YOU! HOW—"

"_Anoo_… Sakura?" Kakashi asked, Konohamaru holding onto his leg behind him. "Calm down, would you? Konohamaru here is terrified…" _And so am I, though I won't admit it…_

"Jiraiya… Naruto has . . . grown more and more like _you_ in these two past years, hasn't he…?" Tsunade asked, a bit annoyed with this outcome.

_Well, with that strength and beauty… You've seem to have raised a Tsunade junior, no?_ the old man thought, feeling a bit bad for his student.

"Right… Well, anyway," Tsunade said. "The nostalgia ends here… Kakashi!"

And the jonin closed his book, leaving the two teammates to wonder about what was going on.

"Well, it's been a while, hasn't it?" Kakashi asked. "From now on, the two of you will come with me on team-related missions. It's different than before. It's no longer teacher and pupil. Starting today, we're equal Konoha shinobi."—he took out two small bells from his pocket—"But first, I'm curious as to how you've developed. The rules are the same as when I first met you two. If you don't come at me with the intent to kill, you'll never succeed in getting the bells."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"The rules are the same," Kakashi repeated once they reached their destination. "No matter how you do it, try to get the bells away from me. You have until sunrise tomorrow."

But his two former students were half-listening and half-looking around their old training fields, reminiscence running through their minds.

"This place… I've missed it." Naruto sighed.

"Ah, that's right." Kakashi said. "This is where you first trained, isn't it?"

"Team seven…" Sakura said, wallowing in her memories. "The three-man team…"

"That time, Sasuke was around too . . . wasn't he?" Kakashi said.

And suddenly, an ominous aura descended upon the land. And both Sakura and Naruto went into their respective fetal positions.

_Sasuke's name is a taboo for these two, huh? _"Well, then . . . shall we begin?"

"So . . . you won't do it reading the book this time?" Naruto asked, standing up and stretching.

"Or did you already finish it?" Sakura inquired as she put on her gloves.

"No… I think I should save the enjoyment for later. Besides, this time . . . for some reason,"—he lifted his headband to reveal his sharingan eye—"I get the feeling that I should take this seriously too."

And then Naruto threw a few shuriken at the jonin. Kakashi deflected them all with a kick and, once Naruto jumped into the air, he threw his own shuriken at the boy. Naruto quickly created a shadow clone. The clone grabbed onto his arm and pulled him out of the way.

_Clever! _Sakura thought. _He couldn't move in the air, so he used a clone to help him dodge. Perhaps I don't have to worry, after all…_

The clone turned into a large four-pointed blade but, before Naruto could throw it, Kakashi restrained him. However, unlike the last time, Naruto was a step ahead. Another clone appeared behind Kakashi, holding a kunai to the jonin's back.

_His use of his clones and his timing… He's gotten smarter. _"But your haste hasn't changed from the last time we did this. I didn't say start yet." _But you've matured, haven't you, Naruto?_ "Alright, start!" And Kakashi disappeared in a cloud of smoke. He was nowhere to be seen.

_Right… Above… Left… Behind… If he's not anywhere then…_ "Below!" Sakura yelled as she brought her fist down to the ground, causing an insane earthquake no one expected.

_What insane power! _Kakashi thought as his hiding place was compromised. _Tsunade didn't just teach her medical jutsu, did she?_

Sakura smiled. "Found you!"

Naruto could barely keep the grin off of his face. _I should really stop playing around in front of her… She could really kill me!_

_She builds up the maximum amount of chakra in her fist. Then she releases it in an instant… _Kakashi observed. _Without precise chakra control, she couldn't do that… It's a real feat… Medical jutsu plus amazing strength… No, that's not all. Because Sakura was originally a genjutsu type, she may become an even better kunoichi than the Fifth… Time for me to stop playing around…_

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"I already knew it, but . . . the sharingan is really amazing…" Sakura said, taking in a few breaths. "And not only that, his seal-making speed . . . it's really too fast… If we could stop him from using both of his hands . . . then we could get the bells."

"Yeah… Kakashi-sensei's unreasonably strong…" Naruto replied, keeping an eye out for their silver-haired opponent. "He's smarter than Shikamaru… And he has a better sense of smell than Kiba… He has better control of his sharingan than Sasuke and better taijutsu than Bushy Brows."

"But even someone like him has a weak point!" Sakura clarified. "If we just think about it…"

And once Naruto thought it over, he realized something important. "Ah…! He _has_ a weak point!"

"Wh-what is it?" Sakura asked, once Naruto started snickering.

"Oh, come now, Sakura-chan. Think about it _carefully_… If you really think back about how Kakashi-sensei's been until now, you'll understand…"

"_What_?"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

_They're here! _Kakashi quickly got onto his feet as the two jumped out of the trees. _They really have to be joking, making a direct attack like this…_

"Now, Naruto!" Sakura yelled.

"Right! Hey, Kakashi-sensei! The last joke in Icha-Icha Tactics, the truth is that the main character—"

What? Kakashi was now scared—well, not _scared_. There was really no word to describe what he was feeling at that moment. He covered his ears without thinking, but he could read Naruto's lips. Oh, would the torture not _end_? _Dammit! Because of the sharingan, I can tell what he says from just his lips_! And so, he closed his eyes against his better judgement.

_Chirin~chirin!_

"Huh?" When Kakashi opened his eyes, he was met with the smiling faces of his two students.

"A ninja should look underneath the underneath. Right, Kakashi?" Sakura asked as she and Naruto burst into laughter. They just defeated the copy-cat ninja!

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"You two have become strong… I'm amazed that you were able to get the bells."

Naruto laughed. "Well, maybe I've surpassed you, Kakashi-sensei!"

"What are you saying?" Sakura asked, shaking her head. "You conceited idiot…"

"But anyway, I'm still young…" Kakashi said. "And recently, I developed a new jutsu…"

However, at that moment, Naruto's stomach rumbled. "Hey, we haven't gone home or to Ichiraku Ramen yet!" he said to Sakura, ignoring whatever Kakashi had just said.

"Yeah, I'm a bit hungry form training yesterday…" Sakura replied. She, too, forgot about whatever her former sensei was saying.

And so Kakashi was left to gloom and doom in his lonely spotlight. _Back then, they'd react to every little thing. They were so cute then… What happened to those cute children I knew?_

"Right! It'll be Kakashi's treat!"

At this, the jonin snapped out of his wallowing and refused. "Sorry, I have to create and submit a list of formations of the new teams. So it's good-bye for now." And _Poof_! He was gone.

"He ran away!"

But his teammate wasn't paying attention. "Hey, Shikamaru! Temari-san!" Sakura called to the people she saw in the crowd. "Who do you think this is?"

"Hey, well if it isn't Naruto!" the genius exclaimed, recognizing the idiot without a moment's hesistation.

"Shikamaru!"

"Did you just come home then?"

"No, I came back yesterday."

"Really? So . . . has any of you idiocy left you?"

"Nope," Sakura said. "He hasn't changed _at all_!"

"I . . . I see…" Shikamaru said, understanding the girl's statement. After all, who would Naruto be without his stupidity?

"So, anyway, Shikamaru," Naruto bounced right back. "Are you on a _date_?"

"Ha! You're joking!" Temari laughed. It was the _stupidest_ question she had ever heard. "Why would I go out with _him_?"—she shook her head—"There's chunin exam soon. I'm just going back and forth between Suna and Konoha for meetings."

"And it's troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed. "Since I'm one of the examiners, I was told to go see off the messengers from Suna."

"A chunin exam, huh?" Naruto asked. "That brings back memories…"

"So . . . what are you going to do, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked. "You're the only one in our class who hasn't become a chunin."

"_WHAT_?" Naruto's scream could be heard from all the way around the world. "Then . . . then . . ."—he turned to the cherry blossom—"you're a chunin, too, Sakura-chan?"

"Plus, Neji, Kankuro, and Temari here are already jonin." Shikamaru added.

"_WHAT_?" Naruto could hardly believe his ears. "Wait, then what about Gaara?"

"He's become Kazekage."

"_WHAT_?"

"Oh, stop screaming, will ya?"

"_Itai_! Sakura, itai desu!"

Shikamaru groaned. _Some things never change, do they?_

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Suna has been warned and are preparing." Jiraiya said to Kakashi and Tsunade. "ANBU have been deployed to key points in the outskirts. Even so, I wonder if they'd be able to forcibly stop someone like me from entering the country."

"But why would the Akatsuki start with flashy movements?" Kakashi asked. "What's their objective?"

"I don't know that much. I'm going to go around and investigate some more."

But even with that said, Tsunade couldn't help but worry.

"Daijōbu," Jiraiya reassured her. "They won't get Naruto. I'll make sure of it."

"Yes, I know that… But," the Hokage sighed. "I've been putting off giving Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi a mission as it would prolong Sakura's staying here. Now that such trouble is going on, I think Sakura would be better off going now than later…"

"Well, what does her mission include?"

"Emptying the Bingo book." The way Tsunade said it, she made it sound like the worst possible thing that could happen to her apprentice.

"_What_? Such a dangerous and important mission?"

"Yes, the Elders are trying to make sure she won't be returning anytime soon…"

"Is she given a time limit?"

Tsunade shook her head. ". . . No. It's either she has to finish her mission or die trying."

✿｡.:***A few days later***:.｡✿

"_Eh_? That mission…? Gee, no thanks!"

"The Hell?" Tsunade asked, pissed off at the idiot. He was the one requesting a damn mission! He should take a what he could get! "What kind of answer is _that_?"

_Please don't talk so selfishly, Naruto…_ Kakashi thought, fearful of his life._ She'll get angry with _me_, and I don't want that on my head…_

Iruka massaged his forehead. Why was it that Naruto had a set of lungs and not brains? "You haven't mentally matured, have you, Naruto?"

"Sorry, Sensei." Sakura said, throwing Naruto into a headlock. "I'll sort him out!" _The Hell is wrong with him? Doesn't he know that Tsunade's terribly horrible whenever someone pisses her off?_

"The Third was more sensible…" Naruto grumbled, remembering how the old man had switched missions for him.

"What was that?" Tsunade asked, a bit more annoyed with the knucklehead of a ninja. "What did you say?"

"Oh, he was just talking to himself, shisou!" Sakura quickly lied. It would have been bad if Naruto were to end up dead and by the Hokage's hand…

The doors slammed opened then, and an ebony-haired woman ran in. "Hokage-sama, it's bad! It's really bad!"

"What is it, Shizune?" Tsunade asked, wondering lazily what could be the big bad news her assistant was bringing.

"Suna's Kazekage has been taken by the organization called Akatsuki! We just received the message!"

With that said, everyone in the room just stopped what they were doing, their brains just trying to process what just had happened. Gaara . . . Gaara was _kidnapped_? And by the Akatsuki? Just what was going on? Weren't they after _Naruto_?

"Right,"—Tsunade was the first to regain herself—"Team Kakashi, I will tell you your first mission… You are immediately to go to Suna, find out the situation, and relay it to Konoha. After that, follow Suna's orders and back them up!"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

As Temari stuff herself with a few tasty dango, she stared at the blue sky. She was going home soon, so she might as well rest up. But as she reached for her cup of tea, without even touching it, the cup cracked. Temari stared at the large fracture. She _knew_ it was a bad omen.

_I don't believe in this sort of thing, but…_ She was worried. _I've just had a bad premonition… Just what's happened?_

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Well, off we go!" Naruto exclaimed, happy as ever that he got an A-rank mission.

"Okay, Tsunade-shisou!" Sakura said. "We're ready!"

Tsunade nodded. "Remember to come see me when you've returned, Sakura."

"Right!"

"Do your best, Naruto!" Iruka wished his favorite student the best of luck.

"Yeah, I will, Iruka-sensei! Just leave it to me!"

But before the team was about to set out…

"Yo!" Jiraiya jumped down from wherever he came from. "Going off on a mission?"

"Yep!" Naruto saluted him.

"But more importantly," Jiraiya walked over to the Hokage, "Something terrible has happened. Suna's Kazekage—"

"Yes, I know." Tsunade said. "I'm about to send these guys off to Suna now."

"But," Jiraiya whispered into her ear, "you _do_ know about the _'thing'_ between the Akatsuki and Naruto, right?"

When Tsunade gave her firm answer, "Yes," Jiraiya called Naruto over to him. "Be careful when it comes to the Akatsuki!"

"Yeah, I know," the knucklehead said. "They've got something against me so, this time, I'm coming after them."

And in a few minutes, Team Kakashi set off on their mission.

"_Worried_?" Tsunade asked Iruka who continued to watch as the team grew smaller and smaller as the distance between them and the village grew.

"Nah…" the academy teacher answered. "He isn't the kind of weak shinobi that I should worry about. Sakura, too… Maturity is a weird thing…"

"Yeah…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Temari-san!" Sakura exclaimed as she saw the Suna nin in a clearing in front of them.

"You guys…?" the blonde asked. She hadn't expected anyone within miles of her. "What are you doing here?"

"Didn't you hear?" Kakashi asked.

"Hear . . . _what_?"

"Gaara was kidnapped by the Akatsuki!" Naruto answered.

"_What_…? Gaara…" Temari cursed under her breath. "I had a bad feeling…" But for her little brother to be abducted like that…

"It'll take three days to reach Suna from here…" Kakashi explained. "Let's get going…"

✿｡.:***Upon reaching Suna***:.｡✿

"The . . . the White Fang!" the old lady gasped, and she went in for the kill.

But luckily, Naruto fended her off before she could wring her wrinkly hands around Kakashi's neck.

"Why are you going at Kakashi-sensei so suddenly for?" Naruto yelled at her. There was no way in Hell that he'd let his sensei be taken out! And certainly not by the likes of an old hag!

"I remember that time…" the old lady said, ever-so dramatically. "That White Fang…! My son's enemy . . . I will get my revenge for him today!"

"Ah! No," Kakashi said, his hands out in front of him defensively. He didn't blame the lady for confusing him with his late dad, but really! To attack him in the open? Oh god, _really_? "I'm not—"

"There's no use arguing!"

But at that point, an old man held out his hand to stop all this madness. "Sister, take a good look." he said. "There's a strong resemblance, but he isn't the White Fang."

And then the old hag started crackling! "I was just pretending to be stupid!" she said, leaving everyone to their respective thoughts.

✿｡.:***after Kankuro gets medical treatment because I'm too lazy to type this out***:.｡✿

"I don't think there's any need to worry about his life anymore," Sakura said, wiping her forehead. The jutsu she had used really was something… It had taken almost all of her chakra. "I've directly removed the poison."

Temari fell to her butt and let out a relieved sigh. Her brother was safe, thank god…

"Now I have to make an antidote for the little bit of poison left in his body," Sakura explained, "so we can't relax yet. Please gather the ingredients I say!"

_Sakura-chan… _Naruto thought, looking at his teammate with new respect. He knew that she had trained under Tsunade, but really . . . _You're great!_

"You're a lot like that slug woman…" Old Lady Chiyo said. "That a girl like you would come…"

"Well, it's because Tsunade-sama's my mentor." Sakura replied.

"Sister," the old man said, "Time is really flowing by us…"

✿｡.:***Okay we know what happens so let's skip to after Sakura punches the boulder, after the battles, to Sasori's death***:.｡✿

"I won't be able to move much longer," the puppet master said. "Before that, I'll do something pointless for you . . . a reward . . . for defeating me. You wanted to know about Orochimaru, didn't you? Go to the Tenchi Bridge in the Grass Village, at noon . . . two months from now."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"I have a spy in Orochimaru's subordinates… I was . . . supposed to meet him there…"

✿｡.:***To when Chiyo exchanges her life to save Gaara's***:.｡✿

"Bring him back?" Naruto asked as the old woman continued her forbidden jutsu. "Can you really do that?"

"This jutsu is Chiyo-sama's alone…" Sakura answered, her eyes sad.

But in a few seconds, the old woman started trembling. She soon began to cough. "Damn…! Not enough . . . chakra!"

"Then please use mine!"

Her eyes widened at the blonde shinobi.

"Old Lady, can you do that?"

She smiled a small bit before nodding her head. "Put your hands on top of mine."

Naruto did as she asked, and the old lady began taking his chakra to complete her jutsu. "I am glad," she began to say, "that someone like you appeared in this world of shinobi that we old people created. In the past, everything I did was a mistake… But at the very end, it looks like I was able to do the right thing… Suna and Konoha . . . their futures are differing from our past…" She smiled. "What Kakashi said about your mysterious power, that power may change the future… Become Hokage unlike any before…

"And Sakura… Do not risk your life for an old hag next time… Save that which is important to you… You are a lot like me… There are not many women with chivalrous spirits matching those of men. You may become a kunoichi surpassing your own master…

"Naruto, a request from an old hag… You are the only one who knows Gaara's pain… And he knows yours… Help him out…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Chiyo-sama of Suna died in the line of duty," Shizune said, reading the status report to the Hokage. "And thus, the Kazekage returned safely. Team Gai and Team Kakashi have completed their mission without a hitch and plan to return to Konoha after three days."

"Got it…"

"_Anoo_…" The black haired woman seemed hesitant to speak. "Tsunade-sama?"

"What is it?"

"Although it worked well for this mission, was it truly a good idea to send Naruto, a jinchūriki, to those people known as the Akatsuki?" Shizune questioned Tsunade's motives. "Even though Hatake Kakashi was with them, why would you take that much of a risk with Naruto?"

"Just that, because he _is_ a jinchūriki," Tsunade answered smugly. "The only person who can understand a jinchūriki is a jinchūriki… Furthermore, he has a mysterious power… Everyone starts to believe in him."

The idiot… She remembered how he got her to believe… He was so reckless… Going up against Kabuto, Orochimaru's right-hand man… How could he do such a thing? And for her? Some old lady? Why, he didn't know who he was lying down the line for! She chuckled at the memory. Sometimes, she wondered if he'd really make a good Hokage someday, always trying to be the hero and saving everyone… Even savying those he didn't _know_!

"But . . . with that said, the Akatsuki might now know that Sakura was a bond with Naruto…" Shizune said. "And once she returns, the Elders will send her off on that mission. What if the Akatsuki—"

"I only argued with the Elders because I didn't want her to partake in such a mission…" Tsunade explained. "She's so young… For her hands to be bloodied with so many victims…"—she shook her head—"I do not want to see that. However, I do believe that she's strong enough to carry out such a mission. If not, her training was for nothing then… I do not want to see her off, knowing that she'd either die or will be unable to return home until she's finished her mission… She's a like a daughter to me… I'll see to it that she'll be able to return home, regardless of her mission status."

Shizune's worry diminished a bit. She had come to see Sakura like a younger sister. When she heard of the Elder's decision, she was more than shocked—more than worried. But at least, she wouldn't be the only one praying for the cherry blossom…

"But then, what about Naruto's team?" Shizune asked. "He'll need an able kunoichi to assist him."

The old blonde smirked. "That… I'll leave up to Sakura. I think she has someone in mind, a certain Hyuga heiress I believe…"

* * *

**Chirin~chirin = [sound of bells]**

**Daijōbu = don't worry**

**Itai = ow; ouch**

**Itai desu = that hurts**

**Niichan = older brother (or friend who's like an older brother)**

**Yay! This chapter is finished, and it only took me about two to three minutes tops! Hee-hee! Thank you and please review!**


	3. Episode 3

-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, the Elders send Sakura off as a hunter-nin, wishing for her death as a way to weaken Tsunade's political powers. Sakura agrees to prove them wrong, but what she didn't know was that Orochimaru's involved! Oh, god… Just what did she get herself into?

* * *

**Yay, another chapter! But you guys, like the last chapter, this chapter coincides with _Mirrorcle World_'s 3rd chapter. Sorry for those who already know what happen… I promise the next chapter will be something you've never read before!**

* * *

Episode Three

~Her Good-Bye~

"Can we trust it?" Tsunade asked her apprentice after receiving the new information. "What if it's a trap? With Orochimaru as bait, the Akatsuki could be lying in wait for Naruto, their target, at Tenchi Bridge."

"If it's a trap then I believe Naruto will fight!" Though she was worried, Sakura's voice was unwavering. Naruto was her teammate, and she knew him enough to say that he wouldn't go down without a fight! "He won't be taken down by those people! He'll continue fighting for what he believes in!"

"You say Naruto will fight, but Kakashi won't be able to leave Konoha for at least _three months_ as he's under observation for using that new sharingan of his… Not only that but you'll be gone as well." Tsunade explained, chuckling wryly. "Naruto will have to break in a new team and, knowing him, it might take _weeks_!"

"In that case, you should send in a different team," Shizune suggested. "Even if we send our strongest shinobi, you must leave Naruto out!"

Sakura stared at the woman. She knew Shizune was worried, but for her to suggest such a thing… Didn't she know she'd just cause Naruto pain? For him to be left out on a mission to retrieve Sasuke… She didn't even want to think of that. She herself was already left out. She needed to know Naruto was there. If not then…

"Shizune," Tsunade started, "Sakura is like you, one of the few people I trust. And she trusts Naruto. Even though she's not going, I'm _definitely_ sending Naruto."

"Then wouldn't it be the same if _my_ team went?" Shizune asked.

". . . No, it's not the same. Both Sakura and Naruto are desperately chasing after their old teammate, Sasuke. They strongly believe more than anyone in rescuing him… Those strong feelings will bring the mission to a success… That's why you and Sakura are different."

Tsunade shifted her weight, leaning against the railing. "Now . . . with that said, Sakura…"

"Hai?"

"Only Neji, Shikamaru, and Kakashi know of your mission. It's up to you whether or not you'll tell the rest of your friends. However, there are more pressing matters at hand. Naruto needs a team, and you know Naruto more than anyone. He needs someone to watch over him, to make sure he's alright, and to make sure he doesn't rush into things. Which kunoichi do _you_ think will be the best candidate for your replacement?"

Sakura smirked. "Hinata," was her answer. "Hyuga Hinata."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"So . . . will that be okay for you guys?"

Kiba thought it over for a minute and shrugged. Sakura's suggestion and proposal seemed full-proof, and there was really nothing wrong with it. It was just a small alteration of teams. That was it.

And when Akamaru gave an approving bark, his answer was locked in. "Well, since it's _you_ who recommended her then why not?"

"It'll certainly do her some good to expand herself in terms of her teammates," Shino said, seconding Kiba's respond. "And since it's Naruto, it'll certainly help her."

"Daijōbu, Sakura." Kurenai smiled at the kunoichi. "Naruto needs her more than these two do. Of course, we'll agree to this especially since you need to help Tsunade gather information."

The cherry blossom's smile was almost larger than her face. "Arigato, Kurenai-sensei!" Sakura bowed. "Now all I have to do is break the news to both Hinata and Naruto!" And with that, she ran off to with those two.

"Heh, I wonder how Hinata will take the news." Shino said.

"She'll probably faint!" Kiba laughed. "But she's been full of surprises lately. Who's to say that she wouldn't jump with joy?"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"So," Naruto said, stuffing his mouth with ramen. He swallowed his food before continuing. "What's the deal, Sakura-chan?" he asked. "There has to be a reason why you're treating me to ramen and spending everything in your wallet on me. What's the catch?"

Sakura giggled. "Nothing's up, Naruto. _What_? I can't have a nice relaxing lunch break with my teammate who had left to train for two _years_? Wow, you are so _mean_!"

"I didn't mean it like that, Sakura-chan!" Naruto quickly tried to come up with an excuse before he was presented with a black eye. "I just . . . just . . ."

"Oh, Hinata-chan!"

Naruto let out his held breath. _Whew_! Saved by the Hyuga heiress… Wait, Hyuga heiress?

"Oh, hey, Hinata-chan!" he said as the girl came over. He looked her over. Wow, she had gotten prettier… He noticed she had let her hair grow out, and everything else was just . . . _wow_! He couldn't think of a better word. "I haven't seen you since I got back! How are you?"

"Na-Na-Naruto . . . kun?" Hinata could feel her face redden. She had thought Sakura had invited her for lunch for some girl talk or something related to that, but never in her years did she think Sakura would set her up with Naruto like this!

_I heard he was back, but . . . what do I do…? I'm not ready… I haven't seen him in almost three _years_!_ She started to fidget her fingers. _What do I say? Oh dear…_

"Hey, Hinata!" Naruto was suddenly right in front of her. His face was so close to hers too… "Why are you so quiet?"

"_Anoo_ . . ."

"And why are you so red? Are you sick or something?" He placed his hand on her forehead. And then…

_Bam_!

"What? _Hinata-chan_! Why did you faint?"

"Naruto! What did you _do_?"

"Sakura, I swear I didn't do _anything_!"

✿｡.:***Minutes later, after Hinata is conscious again***:.｡✿

"Geez, Hinata," Sakura said, "If you keep doing that around Naruto, how am I supposed to trust you as the kunoichi on his team?"

"_What_?" This had caught both Hinata's and Naruto's attention but for different reasons. Naruto was just as shocked as Hinata not because of the fact that she would be on his team but because of the fact that Sakura was _leaving_ him! She was _abandoning_ him! First, Sasuke; now, _her_? Why was she doing this? And to _him_? How could she?

Hinata, on the other hand, was just shocked that she was going to be on _Naruto's_ team. Wh-wh-what happened to her team? Did they _ditch_ her? Did they just throw her away? But all that was just small matters because now she was going to be on _Naruto's_ team! Oh, god! She felt as though she'd faint again.

"Okay, calm down you two." Sakura said. "Naruto, stop thinking that I've abandoned you. And Hinata, don't you _dare_ faint again! Let me explain and you two will understand." She cleared her throat once she knew she had gotten their attention. "I'm going to be leaving soon, and . . . I don't know when I'll be back—"

"_WHAT_?" Naruto's screams were so loud that everyone on the streets stopped what they were doing and just stared at him. "YOU'RE _LEAVING_ THE VILLAGE? WH-WH-_WHY_?"

"Naruto, just listen, okay? I'm leaving because I have to visit some family members, and apparently they don't all live in Konoha nor do they all live in the same place, so I'll be travelling a lot." Sakura explained. "Naruto, as much as I want to, I'm afraid I won't be going on that mission with you anymore. I'm sorry. This just . . . it just came up, you know?"

Naruto, though saddened by this fact, tried to smile. "Daijōbu, Sakura-chan… I understand. It's okay."

The rosette smiled a bit and then turned to the Hyuga. She held the girl's hands. "Hinata, now I know this is sudden, but I do need _someone_ to take care of Naruto in my absence on any future missions. Your team has already given their approval. All I need now is yours, and it's all set. What do you say?"

"Well…" Hinata really didn't know what to say. She was so happy, but she was also sad that Sakura would be leaving. What was she to do?

"Please, Hinata?" Sakura pleaded again. "Naruto's a reckless, stupid, and loud fool."—she ignored the "_Hey_!" that came from the knucklehead's mouth—"I really can't stop worrying about him unless I _know_ that you'll be watching him for me. You're the _only one _I can trust with him, so . . . please? Oh, won't you do it?"

"W-w-well…"

"_Please_?" This was when Sakura turned on her puppy-dog eyes.

"If . . . if you s-say so, Sakura-san."

There was a squeal. "Oh, thank you, thank you, Hinata!" Sakura had thrown the Hyuga into a tight hug. "You don't know what this means to me!"

"You're . . . you're welcome…" Hinata's face was completely red now. Just the thought on being on Naruto's team…

"When are you leaving, Sakura-chan?" Naruto's question threw the girl's out of their happy moment.

Sakura released Hinata then. She hated it when Naruto looked like that. He had even stopped eating his ramen! Oh, god, that's why he needed Hinata, and that's why she chose the Hyuga heiress in the first place. Hinata was really the only choice (and the only one who could probably deal with him).

"First thing in the morning," she answered. She took his hands. "But I'll write to you _every_ day! And I'll send back some new ramen flavors for you to try! I promise I will!"

"Mm…" Naruto still pouted. "Fine…"

But Hinata just watched this scene with her own sad eyes. Even new ramen flavors couldn't snap him out of his sad trance. And rather than a thousand of letters of love, he'd still rather have Sakura by his side… She knew she couldn't take Sakura's place, but still . . . she hoped that she could find some way into Naruto's heart. And maybe, just maybe, she hoped she could change his feelings for her into love…

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"So . . . you're leaving on a recon mission under the cover that you're going on a _vacation_?" Ino asked. "Gee, Forehead, you're kind of lucky in some ways and unlucky in others. I wish I could go goofing off…"

"Yamanaka, don't think that way!" Tenten snapped. "Though it may look like a vacation, she'll have to embark on a dangerous journey for who knows how long! It's just plain _un_lucky! She'll be away from her home, her family, and her friends! Plus, she'll be all by herself!"

"Yeah, yeah, but at the very least she could have some _fun_!" Ino said, almost day-dreamingly. "I would give up my _whole wardrobe_ to have that mission!"

"Alright, alright, I get your point, Pig!" Sakura was finally fed up with her friends' separate opinions. She had already agreed to the mission much to Naruto's dismay. She didn't need anything else to help her stray from her path. "Just give me my order of flowers!"

"Oh, right, here you are!" And as Ino handed her the bouquet, she couldn't help but ask, "So who are they _for_?"

"Kakashi-sensei, duh! He's the one in the hospital, remember? He can't see me off tomorrow, so I'm planning on seeing him today."

"Oh, I _knew_ you had a special purpose for choosing them." Ino said, almost proud of herself and her detective work. "Bluebells symbolizes gratitude, daffodils for respect, pansies for being thoughtful, and sweet peas to say sayonara."

"Yep," Sakura smiled. "He _was_ my sensei. I should at least give him _something_ before I leave."

"It's a good idea," Tenten nodded her head. "But did you tell _Lee_ that you're leaving yet?"

"Oh, I _knew_ I was forgetting _something_!" Sakura could hardly believe herself. How could she have forgotten about the guy who had given his undying love for her? "Hey, Ino, you got any flowers to say _'thank you'_?"

"No, but I do got some azaleas. You could thank him for being modest." the blonde suggested.

"It doesn't really matter, Sakura." Tenten said. "Even if you give him a _rock_, he'd still be grateful for it."

The redhead giggled. "Well, I guess you're right about that!"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

So, after Lee had thanked her for the flowers by declaring that he'd always love her and _only_ her, Sakura finally made her way to Kakashi's hospital room in which he was reading the book Naruto had given him days before.

"I see you're up and doing fine."

"Ah, Sakura, I've been expecting you." Kakashi said, actually putting down his book. "My, what beautiful flowers! And I take it that they're—"

"For _you_?" Sakura finished his sentence. "Yes. I wanted to thank you for being my teacher and to say good-bye."

"Well, I expected this much since Naruto had come stomping in just an hour ago, sulking about you leaving tomorrow." Kakashi groaned as he sat up straighter. "I'm sorry that I won't be able to see you off tomorrow morning."

"It's okay, sensei. I understand."

The jonin nodded his head. "Sakura, after you leave, you're not just some regular kunoichi or chunin anymore. You'll be a hunter-nin, you understand? The first hunter-nin in Konoha history! Whatever you do, make sure you put on a mask and try to hide your hair or at least put up some kind of disguise and never give your real name. Your enemies will be stronger than _anything_ you've ever faced before, so you can't let them know your identity or else you'll be in danger, understood?"

"Hai, Kakashi-sensei."

"Good but, before you leave, I've got a present for you." And he started making the hand signals for the summoning jutsu.

"Kakashi-sensei, you shouldn't—" But when she saw the puppy-like Akita Inu, she was completely won over. "Aw! She's so _cute_!"

"Yes, her name's Kiki, but apparently that's as big as she'll get. And you'll find that she has a personality similar to Naruto's, so you shouldn't miss him all that much." Kakashi explained, a smile on his face when he saw Sakura's. "She'll stray from you most of the time, but you just need to whistle, and she'll come right back to you. Plus, she's portable. You can keep her in your supplies bag for a secret attack."

"Arigato, sensei! I promise I'll take care of her!"

"Well, actually, I wanted it the other way around…"

"How can a dog take care of _me_?"

"Well, Pakkun is in care of taking care of her, so he just pops up randomly whenever he wants to check up on her."

"Oh, wow, won't that put a dent whenever I'm trying to commence a sneak attack?"

The jonin just shrugged. "Just pray that you have good luck!"

"Kakashi-_sensei_!"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

That night, regardless to say, Sakura could _not_ fall asleep. Tomorrow would be her first day as a hunter-nin, after all… The first day she'd start her killing spree… It didn't help her at all that her victims were S-ranked criminals. They were still human, after all… Well, _most_ of them. And she was a medical nin! It was her job to _save_ people, not kill them!

_Oh, god…_ she thought. _How will I bring myself to overcome these feelings? I have to kill them before they kill anymore… But emptying the Bingo Book's impossible! Some of those people aren't even _criminals_! The Elders just want me gone to spite Tsunade. But still . . . god, what _am_ I going to do?_

For a while, she went over her opinions. She could always go back to her memories with Team 7, no? Nah, they would bring her to tears. Then again . . . she could always remember when Naruto and Sasuke were always arguing or she could go even further back to when they were first put into teams when those two kisse—

Oh, god! Wrong picture! _Wrong_ picture! Yeah, maybe that would work…

But then again, she could always enjoy the letters Naruto would send to her. However, there was the fact that she hated reading _his_ handwriting.

God! What was she to do? What _could_ she do?

And it turned out that not even a whole night could give her an answer. Konoha's first hunter-nin… Wow, she had come a long way since her academy days… But had she grown stronger? For that was the question that really ran through her head.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

As the sun rose, Sakura made her way to the village gates. It was a quiet walk, nothing much to see since she already knew the village by heart now. She looked into her purse. Kiki was sleeping peacefully. _Well, that makes one of us… At least I won't be alone… I wonder if that was what Kakashi-sensei was really trying to do when he gave her to me… _She glanced up at the sky. _Well, at least, it's a nice day to set out on a journey…_

She stopped in her tracks when she saw the gates. She had only thought her mentor and Shizune would be there to see her off. She hadn't expected _this_! Everyone from Konoha 11…

"Why…? Why are you guys all here?" she asked as she ran up to them.

"Well, Forehead, we all heard about your new puppy dog Kakashi gave you, and we all thought _'If the perverted sensei's giving her something then why not we all pitch in and give her something more useful than just words?_' And so, here we are!"

"Okay… But Ino and you all, you didn't have to—"

"My youthful cherry blossom!" (Guess who?) "You have given us wonderful memories! You _must_ let us give you something in return to remember us by!"

"Yo, Bushy Brows, I think she gets the idea!" Naruto retorted.

"So, Sakura, here… From both Shizune and I." Tsunade said, handing her a smaller version of Katsuya which left Sakura pretty confused.

_A slug? Surely, you can do better than that! I _can_ summon these, you know?_

"Just say the name of who you want to talk to and she'll connect with another version of herself, and you'll be able to talk to that person."

_Oh… I get it now… It's kind of useful… _"Arigato, shisou."

"And now from all of us…" Naruto said, opening his fist to show Sakura a beautiful bracelet; a black gem sat right in its focus. And as he slipped it onto Sakura's, he explained. "Though it doesn't look like much now, it contains all of us's chakra. So if you have any trouble, you can use this extra chakra supply to help you or you could use any one of our jutsu. Or if you can't use your hands, it'll create a barrier around you to protect you and—"

Sakura threw her arms around him before he could continue on with his rambling. "Arigato, Naruto… Thanks for everything." And when she released him, she bowed to everyone there. "Thanks you all… I won't forget you guys, I promise you that much."

"Oh, and one more thing…" Hinata stepped out of the crowd. She handed Sakura a small card. "I . . . I . . . I promise I'll t-take care of Naruto-kun for you! But if you're st-still worried, all you need to do is add . . . add chakra to this, and you'll be able to see wh-what we're doing… Not . . . not only that but, if you want, it can also sh-show you memories…"

"It was Hinata's idea," Shikamaru yawned.

"Took us the whole night to make too," Choji added as he stuffed some chips down his mouth. "It'll show you anything you want to see, you know?"

Sakura could feel tears coming to her eyes. "I don't know what to say… I don't even think I deserve such good friends… What did I do to get you guys to love me so much?"

Naruto shrugged. "It doesn't matter cuz we're all friends here! And we'll be waiting for you to return! Plus, I'll make sure the Teme's here waiting too! Dattebayo!"

Sakura couldn't help but giggle. Glancing at her friends and mentor, she couldn't help but feel proud of herself. Even if she wasn't as strong as she wanted to be, she could always say that she had friends to back her up. That was more than some people had, and that was all she was thankful for…

* * *

**Sayonara = goodbye**

**Bye-bye, Konoha… Oh, god, Sakura's gotta leave her home! I feel so bad for doing that to her! Oh, well, here come some cool scenes! I hope you guys liked the chapter! Oh, and by the way, I used the Japanese language of flowers for the flower meanings. Thank you for reading and please enjoy!**


	4. Episode 4

-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, the Elders send Sakura off as a hunter-nin, wishing for her death as a way to weaken Tsunade's political powers. Sakura agrees to prove them wrong, but what she didn't know was that Orochimaru's involved! Oh, god… Just what did she get herself into?

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**Yay, another chapter! Hee-hee! I'm thinking you guys might like it or maybe not. But either way, thank you for those who reviewed and blah, blah, blah. Please enjoy!**

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Episode Four

~Her First Kill, Her First Time on the Job, Her Bad Day~

This was not a good place to be out at night, all alone. Unfortunately for the young girl currently walking through the tradesmen's district, it was the middle of the night—and she was very much alone.

She walked with the slightly mincing step of a noble and carried a delicate folded-up fan. Jeweled rings encrusted her fingers. Her soft indoor tabi slippers were unsuited to running or fighting.

The man in black was glad. Fighting he could handle. But when they ran, that was just annoying. He glanced down at his young prey, checking to make sure that he had identified the target correctly. Yes, there it was: the distinct form of the Wind Daimyo's symbol. This was the Wind Daimyo's girl.

The girl seemed blithely oblivious to the fine gold thread on her clothes and the effect it would likely have on the residents of such an area.

_This job is going to be easier than I imagined,_ the man in black thought.

He leaped, almost casually, to the next rooftop. He landed without a sound and ran, his lithe body crouching low to avoid detection. The next rooftop was too far to reach in one bound, but he simply somersaulted to the ground, rolled, then jumped nimbly to grab the overhanging eave. He let himself hand there for a split second, enjoying the feel of gravity pulling at his body, then flipped onto the tiles.

A cat that had been sleeping there stood up in an exaggerated arch of irritation and was about to hiss when the ninja raised a blowpipe to his lips. He cat collapsed softly and rolled down the sloping roof. Before it could fall of the edge and hit the ground below, the ninja stretched languorously and pinned it corpse to the bark tile with a dagger. For some reason, he could hear the slight barking of a young dog, but he ignored it.

The ninja moved from rooftop to rooftop until he was in front of the girl. He waited for the right moment, his entire body perfectly still. When the girl passed below him, he jumped, absorbing the impact of the ground with a smooth bend of the legs that turned almost instantly into a vicious kick to the girl's face.

The girl staggered back, and the ninja grinned, pressing his advantage with a flurry of kicks before reaching for his short-sword.

As the ninja's hand moved to his belt, he lowered his eyes for a fraction of a second, and it was then that something smash into his face, crushing his nose and sending a tsunami of pain and nausea through his body. Through blurred vision, he saw the girl pull back her hand and realized the fan was not a fan at all—it was a heavy metal bar disguised as an everyday object, a classic ninja trick.

_But how…?_

The girl struck again with the bar, and the ninja easily blocked, feeling a new surge of confidence as he finally managed to free his sword and swing it in a n upward arc, calculated to shatter the jaw and cut the arteries in the neck and—

The girl somehow turned out of the sword's path, bringing the fan-turned-club down on the ninja's wrist. The man felt his wrist shatter and the sword drop to the ground just as a fistful of sharp jewels destroyed his left eye.

Not rings but a knuckle-duster.

His legs gave way, and he sank to the ground. But it wasn't over. It was _never_ over. He would heal, in time. Not his eye of course, but the rest…

Then the girl stood over him and drew a kunai from her kimono, the blade so sharp it shimmered as if surrounded by heat. She whirled it around her fingers expertly, strands of her rosette hair danced in the wind.

And then the Oto-nin knew that it was over.

"Tell Orochimaru that if he continues to send me assassins, I will continue to send him corpses," she said. "Let him set his whole arsenal of ninja against me, and I will _kill_ his army. And tell him if he wants to kill me then he better send the Uchiha next time, not some weakling of an ordinary ninja. That boy owes me a death." _And a damn good explanation…_

The ninja looked up at her, faint hope in his one working eye. "You're allowing me to _live_?"

". . . Ah… My mistake."

The ninja tried to smile.

Then she struck, hard and true, at his heart. "I'll just have to tell Orochimaru myself." The rosette-haired kunoichi looked down at the corpse of the first man she had ever killed by herself. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

Yes, this was not a good place to be out at night, all alone. Especially if you were a ninja.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

As the woman waited for her supposed "_date_," she couldn't help but overhear some of the conversations going on around her.

"Did you hear? Someone's going around killing people! Leaving their heads five feet away from the body!"

"Nah, it's just a rumor!"

"How do you know? I know someone who's actually seen the body of a dead victim!"

"_No way_! You're joking!"

"No, you see, I heard that it was a rouge-nin from Kiri that's the serial killer… He preys on lonely women out at night and, when he finds them, he—"

The woman chuckled at the couple's words. Looks like she had just found her next target… She took a sip of champagne out of her glass as her "_date_" pulled up the chair across from her.

"You're late…" she said.

"Heheh, sorry about that! I was just—"

"I don't need to hear your excuses, Jiraiya." the lady retorted, leaving off the honorific. "I'm already used to Kakashi-sensei being late during my time on Team 7… I don't _need_ some kind of cruel reminder."

"Geez, you've turned colder than Tsunade, Saku—"

"For as long as I'm in this disguise, my name's _Yori_," she snapped.

"Right, I forgot that you need to hide your identity now." Jiraiya chuckled. "Black hair suits you, you know? You look like a cabaret singer in that little black dress of yours, too."

"So I've been told…" She took another sip from her glass.

And as she did that, Jiraiya's eyes couldn't help but stray to the dog on her lap. "I didn't know they allowed dogs in here."

"I bribed them. Kiki likes steak, you know."

"Ah…"

"Please tell me you didn't call me here just to check up on me. I hardly doubt that you would waste this much money just to see if I was okay."

"Well, I heard that you've already taken care of someone from the Bingo Book and that you're on the trail of another," the old man said. "I wanted to congratulate my pupil's teammate for a job well done so far."

"Please, carrying out such a job is barely worth squandering congratulations over…" She took out a kiseru[1] and started smoking.

"Wow, that's taking your disguise a little too far, isn't it?"

"Oh, don't get your balls in a knot. It's just a herbal remedy I made," the kunoichi explained. "I caught a cold, but I couldn't risk taking homemade medicine in public. Plus, one of my targets is known for hitting the gambling slots here, and gambling women here seem to prefer to smoke while playing. I'm just trying to blend in, Old Man."

"Yeesh, a bit cold much?"

She smiled apologetically. "Sorry," she said, "But killing people does do that to you…" She let out an exasperated sigh, fiddling with her glass cup. "How long…? How long did it take you?" she asked.

"How long to _what_?"

"How long did it take you to get used to killing people?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "I know that these people in the Bingo Book are criminals, but still they're . . . they're people… I can't just—"

"Sakura—"

She glared at him.

"Sorry," he gave her a rueful smile. "I mean, _Yori_, only demons get used to shedding blood," he explained. "It's normal to feel what you feel right now. Nothing about it gets easier."

"Gee, thanks for telling me that." Sakura fought off an urge to roll her eyes. She was disgusted by how rude she was acting. Since when did she lose her manners? Was it that first victim or the second? She seemed to have lost track.

"Jiraiya…"

"_Yes_?"

"Ever since I left the village, there was an Oto-nin that kept following me…"

Jiraiya's eyes widened.

"I've already taken care of him, and then there was this Oto-nin who was trying to kill the daughter of the Wind Daimyo. I took care of him, too, but lately . . ."

"You think the Oto-nin are keeping an eye on you for some reason?"

"Well, it's not like Orochimaru doesn't keep tabs on Konoha. If a hunter-nin was to emerge from there then that proves a little troublesome for him especially if that hunter-nin is his old teammate's student, the teammate he was afraid of."

"But it's classified information," Jiraiya argued. "Where would he—" And then he realized something. "You think the Elders might have something to do with this?"

"I've been at this for a week and a half already," Sakura said. "That's more time than the Elders had even expected. They want me _dead_, and I don't think they'd just sit by idly. If the time should call on it, they _will_ take matters into their own hands."

"Don't worry, I'll look into it."

"Thanks…" Sakura actually smiled, the first time since she left Konoha.

"So . . . you want to order?" Jiraiya asked, taking out a menu. "My treat."

"Thanks but"—she stood from her seat, dusting off her dress; Kiki jumped to the floor—"no thanks. I've got a serial killer to catch."

"But—"

"Daijōbu," she said. "I'll get something to eat later. I'll see you in a week. Oh, and I've given the waiter a few thousand already. You can keep the change." And then, quicker than Jiraiya could stop her, Sakura had already put on her coat and walked out of the restaurant—a killing aura surrounded her.

Meanwhile, at the table by the corner, two Oto-ninja watched the scene with interest.

"Report back to Orochimaru-sama," one of them said. "It looks like we've found the hunter-nin from Konoha."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

As Sakura walked out into the streets, the only thing she heard were the clicking of her own high-heeled shoes. She was very much alone—well, except for Kiki who was resting in her purse. It was a very cold night. The moon wasn't out either. But nevertheless, our kunoichi kept walking through the empty streets.

She sighed. For some reason, she missed both Naruto's and Ino's big mouths, she missed Shikamaru's constant complaining and Choji's constant eating, she missed Lee's company, she missed Tenten's and Neji's constant nagging, she missed Hinata's constant worrying, she missed Kiba's and Shino's encouragements, she missed Tsunade's and Shizune's motherly views of things, and she even missed Kakashi's constant reading of his perverted books.

She missed another person, but she forced herself not to think of him. After all, she had given Oto the message that, if they wanted to kill her, they had to send their best to get her—and she knew who those people were. However, out of those three, she'd rather meet Kabuto than those other two including her ex-teammate.

She sighed again . . . and quickly spun around and kicked her assailant. Looks like she found the serial killer and, looking at his face, she was unable to match it with one of the ninja from the Bingo Book. It was just some crazy man. What a waste of time.

She pulled back her fist, but the ninja charged at her quickly—a large knife in his hand. Kiki's warning barks saved her just in time.

_Damn it!_ Sakura quickly jumped back, but her assailant kept attacking, lunging forward with that bloodied knife. She felt something solid behind her. Realizing she was trapped in a corner, Sakura closed her eyes.

"Hey-o!"

She opened them. "Ji-Jiraiya!"

"_Hee-hee_!" Jiraiya waved to her, standing on top of the girl's attacker. "Now if I let you get killed, Tsunade's going kill _me_! I'm too _young_ to be brutally murdered by Konoha's Godaime! You should've been more careful! And to think, you're Konoha's first hunter-nin who killed an A-ranked missing-nin! And yet you can't handle a simple serial killer?"

"Sorry, I know I messed up _big_-time."

Kiki barked in agreement.

"But why are you _here_?" Sakura asked the Sanin. "You're supposed to be having dinner."

"Well, yes, but there's a reason why I called you half a week early for our weekly check-up." Jiraiya explained. "We've got info on five S-ranked ninja from the Bingo Book. I was debating on whether or not to tell you. The information was from the Elder's most trusted ANBU."

"You think it's a trap?" Sakura asked.

"I'm not really sure, but Tsunade is sending Yuugao and Anko to assist you."

". . . Why all females?" Though she thought it was nice that she would have an all-kunoichi team, Sakura knew very well that a team of one kunoichi and two male shinobi was the team arrangements for any mission.

"Those five S-ranked ninja own an underground bar," Jiraiya explained. "Women only."

"Oh…" Now it all clicked together. "So . . . when do I leave?"

"About now. Your mission is to catch the five's attention and kill them using any means necessary or you can lead them out of the place and bring them to me where I'll personally take care of them."

"Hm… What do you think, Kiki?" she asked her puppy. "Do you think I should kill them or should I let the old man here do it?"

"_Arf_!"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Upon entering the bar, the strong scent of alcohol filled the kunoichi's nose. _Disgusting_, she thought. She hated the smell of beer and wine mixed with the scent of cigarette smoke. It smelled _horrible. _She couldn't _wait_ to get out of this stupid bar.

"Patience, Haruno-san… This will only take a short while." Yuugo said.

Sakura restrained myself from saying anything else as she knocked on the steel doors that separated the higher-classed alcoholics from the lower classed.

On the other side of the doors, the guard peeked out to see who it was, using the door viewer. As soon as he unlocked the door, both Yuugo and Anko kicked the doors opened, knocking the guard to the floor. Anko quickly dispatched of him. (A/N: And, by that, I mean that Anko knocked him unconscious since he wasn't one of the five targets they were after.)

Out of the corner of Yuugo's eye, she spotted a witness: the bar tender. She knocked the glass cups of wine off of the table and knocked him out too. He fell flat on the floor, almost as if he were dead like a fly.

Sakura watched with somewhat amusement and somewhat guilt until the manager touched her on the shoulder, pleading with her to stop her two fellow kunoichi. She gave him no thought, and Anko pushed him out of her way. The two kunoichi returned to Sakura's side as she walked straight into the main room of the bar.

Being a bit younger than most of the women there, Sakura quickly caught the attention of her targets . . . and everyone else there. Oh, boy… In the words of her comrade, this was so going to be troublesome…

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

A week had passed since that mission, and Sakura was not feeling any better. Though Jiraiya had been the one to finish those five off, she couldn't help but feel the weight of murder on her shoulders. It was a horrible feeling…

Kiki barked.

"I know, Kiki, I know…" she said, her eyes shifting behind her. "We're being followed…" It would seem she had to kill again.

Of all times, she just _had_ to lose her way _now_, trying to get back to the Fire Country from a different route. Now, she was stuck in some small, shady town. She hadn't even met a single person yet. To top it all, it was raining! She was starting to think the place was a ghost town when she had caught a quick glance at some Oto-nin following her again.

_Let's see if I can shake them… _Sakura quickened her pace and made quick lefts and rights, but Kiki kept barking. The Oto-nin was hot on her trail. It would seem she really _did_ need to kill again. She was about to take out a kunai when Kiki started barking non-stop.

Sakura quickly jumped out of the way.

_Boom!_

The Oto-nin was sending _bombs_ at her? _They must be impatient,_ she thought. She quickly glanced around at her surroundings. It would seem that there was more than one.

"There's Konoha's hunter-nin!" she heard a female voice say. "Attack her with everything you've got! Don't stop until she's _dead_!"

She saw a red-headed girl with glasses. Sakura almost laughed. _What the Hell has she done with her _hair_?_ But she had more important matters to deal with.

A group of Oto-nin was charging right at her. She sighed. _Really, do they _not_ know who I trained under? _But she allowed them to have a five-second moment of amusement. She counted the seconds in her head.

_Five…_

_Four…_

_Three…_

_Two…_

"_One_!" And she punched the ground, splitting the floor right in half. She was sucked into the crater, and the Oto-nin ended up bumping into each other.

"YOU _IDIOTS_!" Sakura heard the leader say. "She's underground! Get her _now_! We don't need Orochimaru-sama to get involved!"

From this, Sakura could tell that the woman was a tracker-nin. _And a very loud one, at that…_ She heard feet scuffling above her. Again, she counted the seconds.

_Five…_

_Four…_

_Three…_

_Two…_

Kiki started barking then. Sakura quickly turned around and was met with a barrage of snakes. "_Shimatta_!" She quickly jumped out of the ground but at the expense of having one of the snakes take her wig.

"I _knew_ you looked familiar, Madame Hunter-nin…" the voice hissed. "So it turns out that little Haruno Sakura has taken on a more active role in the ninja role… As expected… Your mentor _did_ travel a lot in her youth…"

"_Orochimaru_…" Sakura could hardly believe her eyes. _Really_! She _so_ did _not_ want to meet up with him of all psycho people!

"I don't know what you heard, but I'm on _vacation_!" she quickly lied. "I don't know what you're talking about with all this hunter-nin crap!"

"On vacation, you say? Well, now, maybe sending Karin after you wasn't such a good idea for a warm welcoming, after all…" the Sanin chuckled. "Luckily, I brought reinforcements."

Kiki barked again, but Sakura knew the drill already. Not wanting to waste any time looking back at who was attacking her, she quickly jumped out of the way. She later found out her attacker was Kabuto.

"I was being _sarcastic_ when I said to send your whole damn army against me!" she lied again. _Oh, what did I get myself into?_

"_Ha_! And I suppose you just accidently stumbled onto our hideout, too!" Kabuto mocked her.

"Well, actually—wait, this is _Oto_?" Sakura asked, completely confused. She had just gotten lost on the way! What were her chances of stumbling onto that God forsaken village?

"You can stop it with your innocence," Karin snapped. "We know you're here to kill Sasuke-kun!"

"_What_? But I really _did_ just came upon this place on accident! And what do you mean kill Sasuke? He's not even here!"

"Sakura…"

She heard that familiar voice just a few feet behind her. How _come everything I say just comes back to bite me? _And so, she yelled, "OH, COME ON! THIS IS SO _NOT_ MY DAY!" And being angry, Sakura stomped her foot, "_accidently_" causing another earthquake in which she used it as a distraction and ran.

She ran into a nearby forest and, instead of going zig-zag, she ran straight forward. She remembered Sasuke's quick pace from when they were genin. She knew she would not be able to outrun him even if she tried. Plus, with that tracker-nin, she couldn't really hide anywhere. It would be useless for her to even try to evade them.

Kiki barked again, bringing the kunoichi out of her thoughts.

"_Shimatta_!" Sakura quickly turned, and the lightning jutsu hit a tree, lighting it on fire. _He almost got me… His aim has gotten better… His jutsu is too dangerous… _Knowing she had to put some distance in between them, Sakura jumped up into the trees. She couldn't hear him, and yet she knew he was coming. He moved so swiftly, so silently, and with such devastating precision.

It was about then that she heard it—the softest, slightest sound of the rustle of leaves moving in the wind close behind her. When her heart leapt violently in her chest as her stomach concurrently plummeted, her reaction surprised her. Why was she so scared? She was stronger now… Why—

Oh, that's right. It was because she was dealing with her ex-teammate who had tried to kill her other teammate. It all came back to her now.

_Don't think about that_, she told herself. _You've gotten stronger… You can handle him… Just be grateful it's just him and not _Orochimaru_!_

She let out a yelp when she heard his chidori hit a tree oh-so very close to her. She pushed her feet off another branch and onto the next tree, going as fast as she could. If she wasn't pushing fifty miles then she really didn't know how fast she was going.

Swiftly, she dove to a lower branch and focused her chakra flow into her left leg. She kicked back hard against the branch as she leapt from it and, with an awful creaking splintering sound, the large bulk of wood was snapped from the main body of the tree and, she hoped, straight into the pursuing Sasuke's path. She didn't look back, she didn't _want_ to. She knew his sharingan was probably activated. If not before then now.

Kiki started barking again, and so Sakura sent back two more branches at him. _Hopefully, _one_ of them hits his head and knocks him out._ As the storm picked up, Sakura continued to dive into lower ground. Though there was less wind blowing against her, she had to be careful with every step. She didn't want to risk slipping and sliding. She kept running straight and, when a tree blocked her path, she punched it. It fell and she jumped onto the fallen tree, using it as some kind of skateboard in the mud.

She looked up and jumped, grabbing the branches above her. His sudden appearance startled her, and she stumbled to a clumsy stop, barely managing to keep from falling off the branch entirely.

_How did he…? When did he…? _She couldn't keep the surprise off of her face. She merely stood, frozen to the spot like a mouse before a hawk. She had no idea what to do. Her mind raced, but no ideas came to her. Kiki kept barking.

He grabbed her arm. She struggled against his hold. _Damn it!_ She was Tsunade's pupil, for God's sake. If she hadn't been almost completely out of chakra, she would've socked him in the face. But since that wasn't a choice, she started screaming.

"Let—me—_GO_!" She knew, for one thing, her lungs could get her out of almost any situation. "Let me go, let me go, let me go, let me go!" And in this, they startled the Uchiha. But in another way, it left her completely breathless.

Seeing no way out, she went back to the simplest of female defense. She raised her hand and _Slap! _She quickly ran again. Before, she had been scared. Now, she was just _terrified_. She had just slapped the guy who was chasing her in the _face_! That was _bound_ to sign her death sentence. She ran. She ran because she was afraid, because she knew she was in trouble, and because she didn't want to spend another minute with him.

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**Shimatta = shit**

**[1] = a Japanese smoking pipe traditionally used for smoking a very fine, shredded tobacco. Yuko from _xxxHolic _is noted for using one.**

**Yay! My chapter is finished! Me myself, I liked the bar scene and the chase. I think I outdid myself there, but I didn't come up with those ideas.**

**The scene where Yuugo and Anko are helping Sakura with those five S-ranked criminals was inspired by Ayumi Hamasaki's music video for her song _My Name's WOMEN_. I wanted to incorporate that music video a bit more into my story, but then I thought it'd only take a space and time, and I know all of you want Sasuke to appear sometime soon, so I cut it out. If you guys check out the music video on YouTube then you'd know how I wanted Sakura to catch those criminals' attention.**

**Also, peoples, during the chase scene, I based it on AngeLhearteD's _The Hunt_. AngeLhearteD was kind enough to let me use bits and pieces of their fanfic and use it in this chapter. I want to take this time to thank him/her.**

**Oh, and the beginning scene is from the prologue of Nick Lake's _Blood Ninja_.**

**Thank you and please review!**


	5. Episode 5

-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, the Elders send Sakura off as a hunter-nin, wishing for her death as a way to weaken Tsunade's political powers. Sakura agrees to prove them wrong, but what she didn't know was that Orochimaru's involved! Oh, god… Just what did she get herself into?

* * *

**Alright, I _finally_ finished this chapter! Sorry it took so long! I just couldn't come up with anything for this chapter in a long while, and I finally came up with this on my week-long vacation. I'm sorry if you guys don't like it… I tried my best to incorporate some things you might like, and I tried to make it as long as possible, so please review and tell me how you like it! Please enjoy!**

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Episode Five

~Her Antics, Sasuke's Annoyance~

Sakura crossed her arms and pouted. "I want a lawyer," she said. "This is _clearly_ harassment." Not only was she chained to the wall, the floor, the chair, and the table, but she was also drained of most of her chakra and, to top it all off, she had to face off with Orochimaru's series of questions while Kabuto examined her answers and Sasuke just sat there as impassive as ever. Kiki was put in a small cage, a cage smaller than even she was.

"Now, _sweetie_,"—Sakura inwardly cringed when Orochimaru called her that—"All I'm asking is whether or not you were on a mission when we captured you."

"And I'm saying that I won't tell you a _thing_ without a lawyer present," the kunoichi retorted. "What your right-hand man is doing could be called sexual harassment and your pupil . . . he just bugs me!"

While Kabuto and Sasuke were just getting plainly annoyed with the girl's antics, Orochimaru chuckled with amusement.

"I don't know what you're laughing about!" Sakura snapped. "I won't say _anything_ until my lawyer is present!"

Kiki barked, almost as if she seconded that.

"Sakura, you don't have a lawyer." For the first time since Sakura was captured, Sasuke actually spoke.

"Oh, what's this?" she asked. "You can still _talk_? Gee, and I thought you were just a mute!" Oh, yeah, she was just plain pissed off right now. But can you blame her? First, she's chased through the forest and in the _rain_! And then she gets captured. And afterwards, she gets knocked out in the same manner as when she was left on that _freakin'_ bench when Sasuke had left Konoha. And when she woke up, she found herself chained up, sitting in an interrogation room. And last but not least, they were expecting her to answer "_a few_" questions which ended up being more than "_a few_."

Oh-ho, there was _no way _she was going to cooperate with the likes of _them_! Not even if all of Hell froze over!

"Heheh, it would seem like you got more than training from Tsunade-chan…" Orochimaru said, smiling. "You're just like her!"

"You know, I'll take that as a compliment."

"Orochimaru, why don't we just torture her for the information?" Kabuto suggested. "It doesn't look like we'll get anywhere by just asking nicely."

Sakura scoffed. "You call all of that _'asking nicely'_? That was probably _the worst _treatment I had in _years_!"

"Now, now, Kabuto," Orochimaru started, "Torturing her would just be inhumane, and I wouldn't want to give Tsunade a reason to send every available ninja in Konoha out to kill me, now would I?"

"I suppose not…" Kabuto said, glancing at the girl. "Then what do you suppose we do, Orochimaru-sama?"

"Show her our evidence," Orochimaru said.

"Hai," Kabuto said. He threw a Bingo Book onto the table.

"Oh, _wow_… A Bingo Book!" Sakura said in a sarcastically amazed tone. "What are you going to do next? Pull a rabbit out of your pocket?"

Kabuto ignored her comment. "We found that in your backpack. Six people have been crossed out—one A-ranked criminal and the rest were S-ranked. That proves you were sent on a mission to kill those in the Bingo Book."

"_Or_," Sakura suggested, "That's Jiraiya-sama's Bingo Book, and it accidently got misplaced and put into my bag when I met up with him for a weekly check-up. And besides, let's face the facts. I'm a _weak_ girl, and I'm too _innocent_ to kill a fly. You can ask Sasuke. He knows how weak I am. He'll give you the full story."

The Uchiha suppressed an urge to roll his eyes and to run a blade through the girl's stomach. Since when did she become so melancholy?

"You trained under _Tsunade_, one of the legendary _Sanin_, for the last two _years_!" Kabuto added.

"_So_?" Sakura asked. "Not everyone's like Orochimaru's pet over there." (A/N: By the way, she was referring to Sasuke for those who did know.) "How do you know I didn't shirk my training or something? How do you even know if I improved or not?"

"People talk about you," Kabuto explained. "About how you've _surpassed_ Tsunade in skill."

"How do you know they're not _rumors_?" Sakura asked. "You can't trust someone else's gossip."

Kabuto was about ready to slice Sakura's pretty little head off of her body. "We're being nice here, Sakura-san. But if you continue to—"

Sakura knocked once on the table, and it turned to rubble. "Do you even know who you're talking to? Even with this little chakra, I can break the floor if I wanted to. Tsunade's my mentor, and I don't think you'd want her on your case, so I'm trying to be nice and not cause you any further trouble. You guys think I'm Konoha's hunter-nin but, sorry to disappoint you, I'm _not_. You're just wasting your time. How could_ I_ be Konoha's hunter-nin? Tsunade wouldn't even think of it."

"Very nice speech, Haruno." Orochimaru clapped his hands. "But how stupid do you think I am?" He knew the strong fighter façade Sakura was putting on was really to help hide her fear.

"Very, considering you're still wasting your time with me."

"Heh, you say I'm wasting time, but I say I'm having fun." Orochimaru chuckled. "With nothing much to do except train my pupil, the days do get tedious."

"Heh, well, let me say this first before you get any further. I'm not going to be your whore or your bitch, if that's where you're going with this."

"Heheh… Of course not, I still respect my old teammate, after all…" Orochimaru said. "I wouldn't do _anything_ to disrespect her."

"Okay then, you can start by letting me go." Sakura said. "That is, if you're _not_ going to disrespect her."

"I never said anything about that, now did I?" Orochimaru stood form his seat and walked towards the door. "Kabuto," he said, "I'll leave her to you and Sasuke, okay? I want whatever information you can get out of her."

"So I can—"

"No, you can_not_ torture our guest."

_Ha! Guest my ass!_ Sakura thought, crossing her arms. _I'm getting out of here as soon as I can!_

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Sakura groaned, ready to bash her head against the wall. "_Why_?" she asked. "Why did this happen?"

"You yelled out profanities at him and his ancestors, threw a chair at him, and threatened to castrate him which led him to go and get Orochimaru. You should've known the consequences."

"Well, _thank you_, Uchiha! But that was a _rhetorical_ question!" Sakura snapped.

Kiki barked.

"I _know_ what I did! I could've chucked Kabuto into the wall with that chair if he wasn't so quick to dodge it…"

Kiki barked in agreement.

"I just wanted to get out of the chains."

Kiki nodded her head. She, too, liked being out of that tiny cage she was put in.

"And you are. Happy now?"

"No, thank you for asking. I wanted to be out of the chains, but I didn't want to be held prisoner. And to make things worse, your teacher stuck me _here_! In _your_ room! Of all places! I would have preferred a nice, cozy cell than here with _you_!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. It was already troublesome that he had to be the one keeping an eye on her, it was even more troublesome that she had to stay in his room, and it was just plain _annoying_ that she wouldn't stop "_voicing out her opinions_," as she had put it earlier.

"Hey, I've got a question."

_Well, no surprise there… _Sasuke thought, still not even glancing at her.

"If Orochimaru wants you to stay with him," she said as she sat down on the floor. Kiki jumped onto her lap. "Then why would he put _me_ in a room _with you _knowing that I might _try_ and _convince_ to go _back_ to Konoha?"

He didn't say anything.

"Unless"—she yawned—"you've really broken your bonds and won't be fazed by anything I say."

No response.

"You know, now that I'm not blinded by my stupid crush, you really do resemble your brother, you know that? You two are exactly the sa—"

She was slammed into the wall—a hand around her neck, squeezing tightly. She could hear Kiki's loud barking, but she couldn't breathe.

"Don't you _ever_ compare me to him! And don't think I'll let you continuing mocking me! I held back before." Sasuke let go, and Sakura fell to the floor, gasping for air.

"But it doesn't mean I won't kill you now…"

"Kill me then! Since all your bonds are broken anyway!"

"Don't test me, Sakura."

"Who's testing _who_? I'm just stating the obvious!"

Another roll of the eyes. _Annoying…_

"Hey, I'm talking to you! Don't you walk away!"

But the door closed with a slam, and Sakura was left all alone in the room with her pet dog. She sulked.

She couldn't believe she was so _stupid_! She didn't give it any thought when she had slapped the Uchiha. She should've known better. When she ran, she should've put up more precautions. The moment she had tried to slap her ex-teammate, she was put into a genjutsu. How could she have been so _blind_? In fact, when did this have to happen in the first place? She was just an innocent traveler who had gotten lost on the way. Did the gods have something _against_ her? Or was it Sasori's doing in the afterlife?

_Oh my Kami-sama, this is karma for killing those people!_ "Oh, why does this have to happen to me?" she asked.

Kiki barked.

"Yeah, you're probably right. I should look on the bright side of things…"

The dog barked again.

"You're right! There _is_ no bright side of this!" She rubbed her now sore neck and sighed. Would Sasuke really have carried out with his threat? Would he really have tried to _kill_ her? She decided not to ponder it any further. She was tired, after all. She'd think about it in the morning.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Why did you put her in my room?"

Orochimaru chuckled. "Now, now, Sasuke-kun, we need to make sure our guest feels comfortable… And since you used to be her teammate . . . well, you understand, don't you?"

"No, I _don't_."

"Sasuke-kun, if Orochimaru does something, he has a reason." Kabuto said.

"Hn, whatever… Just cut the talking and train me."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

When Sasuke returned back to his room, the first thing he noticed was that it was actually quiet. His immediate reaction was that Sakura had escaped, but then he saw her small figure curled up on the floor. At the sight, Sasuke—though he wouldn't admit it—was actually _worried_ about her. She wouldn't have been so upset that she went suicidal, would she? He walked over and checked for a pulse. Normal, good. Then he checked to see if she was still breathing. Soft and light but normal, that was good too. So she was just sleeping…

"Che, annoying girl…"

When he moved to pick her up, he didn't see Kiki who Sakura had cuddled up in her arms. The dog was woken up by that slight movement and jumped out, barking at the Uchiha.

"Che, annoying dog…"

And with his feet, he brushed the dog to the side (A/N: keep in mind, I didn't say _'kicked'_ because then that would have been animal cruelty), picking his ex-teammate up in the process. And ignoring Kiki's barks, he placed the sleeping kunoichi on the bed, leaving the puppy-dog a bit confused.

Sakura had told her the whole story about Team 7 and about Sasuke's deflect of Konoha right before falling asleep. At first, the dog thought this was just Sasuke's attempt at leaving the kunoichi again to which Kiki started to growl at the Uchiha. But Sasuke sent her a death glare so scary that she quieted and got on her hind legs against the bed to take a better look at Sakura's face. She seemed more comfortable than before when she was on the floor. Kiki's tail started wagging.

Meanwhile, Sasuke just watched the kunoichi as she slept. She seemed as though everything was right with the world . . . or something close to that. If he didn't know her, he'd thought she was an angel in disguise. But an angel wouldn't be a hunter-nin, that was for sure. And so, Sasuke didn't let down his guard. If Sakura was actually faking her little slumber then he'd be in trouble if he wasn't alert.

_Thump!_

At first, Sasuke almost jumped from his seat, thinking that it was an ambush. However, when he just saw that Kiki had fallen from trying to get on the bed, he rolled his eyes.

"Che, annoying dog…"

The dog was so small that Sasuke's hand could wrap completely around her stomach. He picked the dog up and placed it right next to his ex-teammate. Kiki gave a small bark, probably a thank you. She walked around in a small circle, marched in place a little, before deeming the bed to be comfortable. And then she rested down right there. Perhaps, the Uchiha boy wasn't so bad as Sakura had led her to believe.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

When Sakura woke up the next day, the view she was met with was not one she expected. It would appear that yesterday had not been a nightmare, after all… She turned onto her side. Was it morning yet? She couldn't tell, the room was so dark. As she rolled onto her other side, something caught her attention. She pressed down on the thing she was laying on. She didn't remember the floor being so soft…

When she realized she was on the bed, she sprung up into a sitting position. She clearly remembered being on the floor when she fell asleep, so how…?

The door creaked opened.

"It's about time…"

Sakura's eyes shifted into a hard glare as Sasuke walked over and placed a tray of food on a nearby desk.

"It's not poisoned," Sasuke said when he saw Sakura's scrutinizing glance at the food.

"I'll be the judge of that," she growled.

He shrugged. "Suit yourself." And he immediately started towards the door.

"How did I get onto the bed?"

"I just assumed that the floor wasn't comfortable." And the door closed.

Sakura just stared at the door. Was Sasuke implying that he had been actually _nice_ enough to actually care about her? But looking back, Sakura knew that couldn't have been a possibility. Her eyes shifted back to the food. She had trained under the best medic in the whole ninja world. Did they really expect her to _not_ notice any traces of poison?

She got out of the bed and placed her ear against the door. Good, there was no one outside. She twisted the doorknob. The door was locked.

She scoffed. Did Sasuke honestly believe a _locked door _would stop her from escaping? She looked around the room for something to pick the lock. Obviously, she couldn't risk making a huge scene by breaking the door with just her fists. Her eyes soon came upon her backpack. Apparently, Orochimaru had thought it would be okay for her to keep her things. She went over and looked through her things, shortly coming upon the card Hinata had given her.

_"It'll show you anything you want to see, you know?"_

_Hm… I wonder… _"Show me an escape route." And as Sakura added her chakra into the piece of paper, a small map began to materialize. She smiled. "Thank you, Hyuga Hinata!" And at that moment, Sakura decided against not making a scene and punched her way through the door.

And luckily for her, there was no one in sight. "Okay, I'm good so far…" She kissed the bracelet Naruto had given her and said a small prayer before continuing on her way. She ran down the hall, Kiki right behind her. To her dismay, it was longer than it initially seemed. She stopped at the corner. She took off her headband and held it at an angle where she could see if anyone was around the corner. No one there.

And so, she started her jog again. She passed countless of doors on the way, and she only thanked the Heavens that no one decided to step out of those rooms. It would have been horrible if Orochimaru or Kabuto had come out to find her running around. It would have been worse if Sasuke had caught sight of her. She forced herself not to think of that possibility… It would only distract her…

When she turned a sharp left, she was met with the sight of stairs. Kiki whimpered. And so, now, Sakura had to carry her puppy-dog up the stairs.

"Kiki!" she groaned. "Why are you so heavy?"

And once she got to the top of the stairs, she saw a few windows. Her journey was almost over. Now she just had to open one of the windows and—

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

Sakura gasped at the sight of the two Oto-nin. She quickly jumped through the glass window and ran. She heard one of the shinobi tell the other to call for Orochimaru, but she didn't look back as she leaped from the roof to a nearby tree, putting Kiki in her backpack.

_Come on, come on! Faster, faster!_ she told her legs. She couldn't risk getting caught again. _Faster, faster!_

Kiki started barking, and Sakura glanced back. A giant shuriken was heading her way. She gasped again and jumped towards lower ground. At the very least, it wasn't _Sasuke_ chasing her. At least, she still had a chance at escape…

She glanced down at the bracelet hanging on her wrist. _Let's put you to the test… _She quickly made the hand seals she had seen Naruto use. "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" And a hundred pink-haired girls appeared. Half of them went in separate ways while the other half stayed to fight the perusing Oto-nin.

_Thank you, Naruto, thank you! _Sakura thought as she quickened her pace. She couldn't get caught, she just couldn't risk that…

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Sakura fell to her knees. She had been running for a few hours already. It was noon now… None of the Oto-nin were pursuing her now, probably thanks to her shadow clones, but thanks to them, she was almost out of chakra.

_Now . . . I _know_ why that's a forbidden jutsu… And Naruto makes it look so _easy_!_

She sat to catch her breath. She was so hungry too. She hadn't touched her breakfast, and she didn't even have lunch yet… And when she looked over at Kiki, the puppy looked as if she was as hungry as the kunoichi was. Sakura groaned. _Really_! How could she have let things get so out of hand? She should've saved that nice tray of food Sasuke had left for her… Oh, why was she so stupid? In the end, she decided that it was because she had spent too much time with Naruto… Yeah, that was probably it…

_Poof!_

Sakura almost jumped.

"Yo! Surprised to see me?"

"Pa-Pakkun?"

"I take that as a yes. How have you been, Pinkie?"

"Just . . . peachy, _just_ peachy."

"Good! How about you, Kiki?"

"Arf!"

"It's nice to know you guys are staying out of trouble."

"_Anoo_ . . . well, don't jinx us…" _Please don't!_

"So, anyway, how's the mission going?"

"Pretty good…" _That is, if you can count being a "guest" in Oto to be good!_

"That's good to hear." However, at that moment, Pakkun smelled something funny. And he began sniffing harder. "Oy, Pinkie! What's this weird scent? You smell like . . . something I haven't smelled in a long time… Smells like someone I haven't smelled in a few years already…"

At that minute, Sakura and Kiki began panicking in their heads. _Not good, not good, not good!_

"What was his name? Oh, I can't put my finger on it… I know I—"

"Oh, well, look at the time! Me and Kiki must really be going!" Sakura said, Kiki nodding her head. "It was nice to see you, Pakkun!"

"But—"

"I said, _good day_!" And quickly making hand signs, Sakura made a counter summoning jutsu that made Pakkun disappear. She let out a sigh. "You know… For a second there, Kiki, I thought I was in trouble."

The dog barked in agreement.

"Do you think we lost them?"

"Guess again."

Sakura could have screamed if she had been the girl back in Team 7's genin days. Lucky for her (and Sasuke), she wasn't, so she didn't scream as if she had seen a ghost and was scared out of her life. She just grimaced a helpless frown, fashioning widened eyes filled with exasperation and a bit of fear. The face practically matched that of a defenseless kid.

"But . . . but . . . _you_ . . . there and oto-nin… _How_…?" She just couldn't recover from the shock.

"I was training somewhere nearby and, on my way back, I see ten and more flashes of pink." the Uchiha explained. "From there on, it wasn't hard to piece things together."

In Sakura's head, her Inner would've been screaming profanities if she had been around but, to Sakura's dismay, her Inner wasn't around anymore to provide her any comfort.

"So . . . I'm guessing you're going to take me back to Orochimaru's evil lair now, right?"

"Well, seeing that you're out of chakra and you're not as stupid as the dobe, you'll probably come willingly this time and with_out_ a fight, am I correct?"

Sakura sighed in defeat and nodded her head. If only Naruto saw her now…

And as Sasuke walked away, Sakura just stared at his back, trying to stand up. In a few seconds, Sasuke realized she wasn't following him, and Kiki's barks were more worry-toned than he'd like. He turned back to the kunoichi.

"Hurry up!"

"_But_ . . ." Sakura seemed hesitant to speak.

Sasuke knew he was going to regret asking, but nevertheless… "What's wrong?"

"I can't stand up!"

The Uchiha inwardly groaned. If he had thought she was annoying before, she was _beyond_ the point of irritating now. Oh, the days to come were not going to be pleasant…

* * *

**Whew! It's done. Did you guys like it?**

**Oh, and I finally made a oneshot! It's a NaruHina one which contains major SasuSaku and minor Saino and ShikaTema pairings. It's called _APPEARS_, and I hope you guys check it out! Please review for that story and this story! Thank you and stayed tuned for my next chapters!**


	6. Episode 6

-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, the Elders send Sakura off as a hunter-nin, wishing for her death as a way to weaken Tsunade's political powers. Sakura agrees to prove them wrong, but what she didn't know was that Orochimaru's involved! Oh, god… Just what did she get herself into?

* * *

**Yay! A new chapter! I couldn't really think of an idea for this chapter, so I just put in something with Naruto and Hinata. After all, you all must be wondering what's going on with them, right? And so, the middle of the chapter coincides with _Mirrorcle World_'s 5th chapter, okay? For those who read that, you don't have to read this whole entire thing, but the beginning of this chapter and the end of the chapter is different from _Mirrorcle World_'s chapter, 'kay? Thank you and please enjoy!**

* * *

Episode Six

~His New Teammates, Her Resolve, Hinata's Fake Smile~

Sakura kicked the wall. It had been at least a whole month and a half (plus three days) that she had left Konoha, four weeks since her first kill, two weeks since that conjoined mission with Kurenai and Anko, maybe a week since she became an "_honored guest_" in Oto, and a day since her last failed escape attempt. She was bored… No, scratch that. She was _beyond_ bored. She was close to dying here. There was nothing to do except stare at the wall, wait for Sasuke or some other Oto-nin to deliver her meals, try to escape, and talk to Kiki. Yeah, it was okay for the first two hours or so, but it got tedious once she hit the third hour.

So, yeah… She was just staring at the ceiling right now. "I'm so _bored_… What can I do, though? There's really nothing interesting to do here…"

_Arf!_

"You know, you have a point there. If I could find something to blackmail Sasuke with then maybe life could get more interesting."

_Arf!_

"You have another point there, too. There's no telling what he'd do if I blackmail him. He might _kill_ me, for all I know."

_Arf!_

"That's a good idea, too… If I try and act like Naruto then maybe he'll get so annoyed with me that he'd _want _me to escape."

_Arf! Arf!_

"Then again, that _is_ something to worry about, too… But does it really matter if I stay here? I mean, it's not like _I _could convince him to go back to Konoha with me."

_Arf!_

"What do you mean _'seduce him'_? That's the _last_ thing I'd do!"

_Arf, arf!_

"Oh, don't give me that tone, little doggie! I'll have you know I'm _over_ my crush on that cold, heartless bastard!"

_Arf!_

"Oh, you're right… Who am I kidding? I still love him, the bastard who left me on a _freakin'_ bench after I confessed my love to him…"

_Arf!_

"I know… I'm so pathetic…"

_Arf! _Kiki gestured to the clock.

"_Hm_? What is it, girl?"

With her paws, Kiki made some kind of movement. It looked like she was holding something and using it in circular motions.

"_Anoo_ . . . are you telling me to cook something? Poison the Uchiha?"

Kiki shook her head. She looked around the room and decided to hop onto the desk. She took out a piece of paper and continued with her paw motion.

"You want me to . . . write something?"

Kiki nodded her head. She then took out a scroll.

"A . . . new jutsu? A poem? A book? A . . . letter?"

_Arf!_

"A letter? But to _whom_?"

And then Kiki held out her paw in almost a thumbs-up position.

"To . . . _Naruto_?"

_Arf! _which translated to "_Bingo_."

And suddenly, realization hit Sakura right in the head. "Oh, Kami-sama! I've been so busy lately that I forgot about him! Oh, no… What if he became suspicious and figures out that I'm _not _visiting my family? Oh, Kami-sama… What am I going to do?"

_Arf!_

"You're right, Kiki. Being Naruto, he probably hasn't even thought anything of it. If I just write something, he'll be happy and fine."

_Arf!_

"_Hey_…! Whose side are you on anyway?"

_Arf!_

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Naruto kept the bottom half of his face submerged in the water. He sat right in between that asshole Sai and his . . . _err_, wonderful team leader. They had been sent on the mission to get the Akatsuki spy but, right now, the new team leader wanted his team to get along, and so here there were. At the hot springs… Just great…

"Ah, for guys, being together naked really makes us feel like companions!" Yamato laughed, but then he threw out his serious face again. "Don't you agree, Naruto?"

"Y-yes, yeah, of course!" Naruto almost jumped. _His eyes are really terrifying! He really is ruling by fear!_

"Well, well," Sai said, "so you really do have one."

Naruto could fear himself turn red with both anger and . . . well, more anger. "DON'T GO LOOKING! WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS GOING ON ABOUT PENISES ANYWAY?"

Naruto's screams were so loud that even the girls in the female hot springs could hear.

Hinata could feel herself redden with embarrassment as everyone else started laughing. _Na-Naruto-kun, I'd appreciate it . . . if you were a _bit_ quieter…_

But when Naruto heard all the laughter, a dirty little thought popped into his mind as quickly as he could eat ramen. He began to edge towards the wall that stood in between the two hot springs. He was so close! He just needed to—

"Well, I'm done for now." Yamato said as he stood out of the water. "But first, Naruto, there's something interesting I want to tell you."

"What is it?" Naruto was more curious than Alice was when she saw the white rabbit.

"When Jiraiya-sama was young, he came very close to dying once…" Yamato explained. "Six of his ribs and both of his arms were broken, and many of his internal organs were ruptured… It seemed that the cause was Tsunade-sama's inhuman strength. What he did was _exactly_ what you're doing right now… If Hinata-san were to tell Sakura-san—"

Naruto was now scared for life.

"—what do you think she would do?"

And suddenly, Naruto was right in the middle of the hot springs, trying to play innocent. Oh, boy… Would he ever learn?

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

That night, dinner went pretty well compared to what had happened before when the team was leaving Konoha and during their time in the hot springs. Naruto was chowing down everything he could get his grubby little hands on, Hinata was trying to get him to slow down (and managed to do so when she threatened to tell Sakura), and Sai said more things to piss Naruto off but, with Yamato there, Naruto didn't dare to start a fight.

"So, Dickless…" Sai said. Everything else he said went unheard when Naruto yelled.

"_WHAT_ DID YOU CALL ME?" He was just about ready to pounce the guy.

"_Ahem_…" Yamato cleared his throat.

Naruto quickly sat down, mumbling something about killing Sai in his sleep or something close to that. He picked up his chopsticks and started to eat again.

_Poof!_

When the tiny version of Katsuya appeared, she knew right away she had come at the wrong time. Why? Well, there only one reason. When she appeared, she was met with the sight of the scarring picture of Naruto's opened mouth while she was on his chopsticks.

"_Kyaa_!"

"_Huh_? Katsuya? What are you doing on my chopsticks?"

"Na-Naruto-kun, stop shaking them! You're . . . you're scaring her!"

✿｡.:***Minutes later***:.｡✿

"So, Katsuya," Naruto started once everything had calmed down. "What are you doing here?"

"He's talking to a _slug_?" Sai asked Hinata in a whisper, the two watching from outside Naruto's room.

"Sh-she's not some ordinary slug, Sai…" she explained. "She's one of Tsunade's summonings."

"Oh," was Sai's blunt reply as they returned to watching Naruto and the slug.

"I've come with Sakura's letter," the slug answered. She opened her mouth, and the letter shot right out. "She told me to tell you that she's sorry she hasn't written to you. Something had come up."

"Thanks…" Naruto unrolled the scroll and started reading.

_Hey, Naruto, it started, how have you been doing so far? And before you start writing your letter, I'm just going to say that I've been perfectly fine. Something came up, and . . . well, you wouldn't believe it even if I told you what happened. I'll explain it when I come back, so don't ask about it, 'kay?_

Naruto made a note in his head to ask about it whenever he'd see her.

_So . . . I trust that you've gotten the new members for the team already, right? Who are they and what are they like? Are you getting along? Are you having fun? Do they enjoy ramen as much as you do? You're not letting them bully Hinata-chan, are you? Cuz, if you are, I'll punch you into next month whenever I see you again, got that?_

Naruto shuddered at the thought. For some unknown reason, Sakura's threats were a bit scarier when they were on paper…

_But anyway, I didn't find any new ramen flavors in this village I'm in right now. (I can't tell you where I am. Tsunade and Jiraiya's rules… Sorry.) There's no good souvenirs here either. It's really dull here, and I'm actually very bored. There's really nothing to do! I've completely lost my way to my great-aunt's home. Apparently, my great-aunt likes to move a lot, so now I've got to hide out here while Jiraiya-san gets her new address but, knowing him, it'll take forever! She might live right next door or just down the street, and I wouldn't know for maybe a month! God, I swear I'll kill him if this storm doesn't._

Naruto laughed at this, but he couldn't help but feel sorry for his teammate. He had been on a two-year training program with the old perv and, for long periods of time, the guy just goofed off. He had a feeling that Sakura wasn't going to be getting anywhere soon, and Jiraiya would come close to dying by _her_ hand rather than Tsunade's this time.

He didn't feel bad for the old man, though. Jiraiya needed a wake-up call to keep him from straying from his job.

_God, I miss you… Kiki here just keeps reminding me of you, you know? She barks every minute of the day! I can't get her to stop! And then, during her meals, she reminds me of Ino-pig. She only wants the best of foods—it's really crazy, Naruto. And then there are those rare times when she's quiet and shy like Hinata… Oh, and you won't believe this: when I was fighting these bandits, she went all Tenten-like and grabbed my shuriken with her mouth and started throwing them like there was no tomorrow! It was so weird! But really, Naruto, I really am homesick… It's lonely here… I really do want to come home and even have ramen at Ichiraku's…_

At these words, Naruto's mood went down by ninety percent. He missed her, too, and God only knows how much everyone else did.

_Oh, I gotta go! I'll write to you tomorrow! Love, your favorite cherry blossom~_

But Naruto didn't want the letter to end. He wanted to know more about how she was doing, if she was alright or not. He was worried about her even if she was just visiting her family members… She had never been off on her own before… Just what troubles were she facing?

Hinata watched on with sad eyes of her own. She had known she couldn't compete with Sakura. She just didn't know how much of a status the cherry blossom had held in Naruto's heart. She was starting to think that the possibility of Naruto ever seeing her as someone other than Sakura's replacement was never going to happen. Sakura had too big of a spot in the ramen-loving ninja's heart. That was the one thing that would never change…

And so, she left to try to lull herself to sleep while Naruto started writing his letter.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

_Poof!_

"Oh, there you are, Katsuya… I trust that the letter was sent with no trouble whatsoever?"

"H-Hai…"

Sakura narrowed her eyes once she noticed the slug's trembling form. "What is it, Katsuya? Did something happen?"

"Let's just say . . . that I ended up on the wrong side . . . of Naruto's chopsticks…"

And when Sakura was about to say something, she realized immediately what Katsuya was getting at and didn't ask about the event. "_Right_… So . . . his letter?"

"Right here." And the letter came out of Katsuya's mouth as it did before.

_Hiya, Sakura-chan! I'm doing just fine despite the fact that the new team leader Yamiko (I think that's how you spell his name)—_

Sakura shook her head at the numerous blackouts before the name Yamiko. It would appear that Naruto's name spelling hadn't gotten any better—

_—has a creepy face that's freakin' scary and the new asshole—_

—nor did he lose the vulgar vocabulary…

_—Sai just says things that pisses people off! Do you even know what he said to Hinata-chan? He called her a "_busty stuttering freak_!"_

Sakura could hardly believe that. _How dare that asshole call sweet, gentle Hinata that? Naruto, you _better_ have rasengan-ed him!_

Kiki, who was on her lap and also reading over the letter, seemed to have been in agreement with her.

_I tried to go rasengan on him, but both Yamato (the asshole actually told me something useful and helped me spell the guy's name) and Hinata-chan held me back! I'm sorry, Sakura-chan! I really did try to kill him for that! But then, afterwards, Hinata told me that the asshole was kinda like Sasuke in a few ways, but I'll tell you this much: the guy's nothing like the Teme! He's much more worser than the Teme!_

Sakura rolled her eyes. _I highly doubt that now…_

_Teme was much more cool—I mean, better! Also, also, the asshole—_

Sakura let out an exasperated sigh. _Naruto, if you keep calling him an asshole, you'll _never_ learn to like him…_

_—called Sasuke-teme a "_weak shit-for-brains Orochimaru's clone who only cared for power and ran off to that snake and betrayed Konoha_!" Can you believe him?_

Sakura thought about it for a moment. _Well, the new guy was right in that Sasuke _did_ betray the village, and he certainly got the shit-for-brains part and only-cared-for-power part right… But a weak Orochimaru's clone, he is definitely _not_!_

_But don't worry, Sakura-chan! Even though I couldn't do anything about it, Hinata gave the asshole a run for his money! She went Byakugan on him and knocked him to the floor with just one attack! It served the asshole right!_

Sakura smiled. _Alright, Hinata! Didn't know she had it in her…_

_But Sakura, I think you should've been here instead! You could have thrown the asshole right out of this world! I would rather have preferred that then spending any more time with—_

Suddenly, Kiki started barking, and Sakura heard the door knob turn. She quickly turned off the lamp and stood from her seat. But before she could find a hiding spot for the letter, her ex-teammate came into the room.

Thinking quickly, Kiki took the letter our of Sakura's hand, grabbing it with her mouth, and ran under the bed. If Sasuke had seen that letter, holy crap, that would _not_ have been good.

"What are you doing back?" The kunoichi's question almost came out as a snarl. She hadn't expected him. "I thought you were on a mission, and—"

"Finished it…"

Sakura's hands rolled into fists. She had stayed in this goddamn place for almost a week already, and still she couldn't get used to him. In fact, she just couldn't _stand_ his arrogant tone. "When are you letting me go?" she asked—no, _demanded_ was a much better word. "I already told you: I came just for a vacation, not as a kunoichi—"

Sasuke fought off the urge to roll his eyes. This was, what, the _hundredth_ time she had asked that question and given that excuse?

"And you expect me to believe that when they told me you were Konoha's hunter-nin or when they showed me the Bingo Book you carried?" he countered, interrupting her.

Next to his arrogance, Sakura hated the fact that he wouldn't let her finish most of her sentences.

"You had crossed out five of those S-ranked criminals and one A-ranked," he continued.

"I already _told_ you," Sakura retorted, tired of repeating her lies. "The book _wasn't_ mine. It's probably Jiraiya's. Tsunade makes him check up on me from time to time. He must have accidently misplaced it and put it in my bag by mistake!"

Sasuke didn't say anymore. He went to the bed and pulled the dog from underneath it. He wasn't an idiot. He had seen how frantic Sakura was when he was coming into the room. And he had a pretty good idea why. He took the letter from Kiki and dropped her onto the bed.

"What are you doing?" Sakura could hardly believe this. It was getting harder and harder to control her temper. "That's _mine_! Don't go looking through my stuff!"

She tried to punch him, but he grabbed her arm and twisted it so hard that she fell to the floor.

"A letter from Naruto…?" he asked.

And even though Sakura didn't look up at his face, she knew his bloodline had activated. The anger in his voice was enough of a hint. She had to find a way out of this. She _knew_ his temper was far worse than hers.

"I didn't tell him about where I was or what happened, okay?" she said, keeping her eyes away from the man's face, as she stood. For some reason, she just couldn't face him. "I just wrote to him what I usually wrote! He'll get suspicious if I didn't! Do you _want_ him to come looking for me?"

"Hn…" He threw the letter in the air, and the dog caught it, glaring at him.

He ignored the pup and placed his hand under Sakura's chin, lifting her face so that her eyes met his. "Don't forget," he said. "I _can_ make you tell me the truth either through torture or just plain brainwashing. If you continue to go against my orders, I will not hesitate to do what I need to!"

Though scared, Sakura continued to glare at him. She didn't even feel herself tremble as he left, going into the bathroom.

Frustrated, the kunoichi punched the wall. If she had _all_ of her chakra, she would've made the whole structure fall. That might have made her feel better. But she didn't _have_ all of her chakra now, so she couldn't do much anyway. She threw herself onto the bed, but she couldn't forget how scary the Uchiha was… How afraid she had been… her heart was still beating, but was it from being in his presence or was it because she was truly frightened by him?

She could feel the tears in her eyes. _If the Elders hadn't given me this mission, I wouldn't be stuck in this mess! _And in that small second, she decided she hated those old cronies and that she despised the fact that she was being held captive by the Uchiha bastard…

She rubbed her neck. She hoped it wouldn't leave a mark, but it really did hurt… And the fact that it came from her ex-teammate didn't help either.

* * *

**Yay! This chapter is finished! And I gotta say, it turned out better than I thought it would. But that's just _my_ opinion. I still want to hear yours, so please review peoples! Oh, and for those who read my oneshot, thank you!**


	7. Episode 7

-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, the Elders send Sakura off as a hunter-nin, wishing for her death as a way to weaken Tsunade's political powers. Sakura agrees to prove them wrong, but what she didn't know was that Orochimaru's involved! Oh, god… Just what did she get herself into?

* * *

**Alright! A new chapter! Okay, here's the thing. My mother has forbidden from going on the computer on school days, so my updates might come much slower now. Don't worry, though! I'll try to find some way around it! Thank you for supporting me so far, and please enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Episode Seven

~Her Frustration, Sai's Title, Sasuke's Realizations~

As Sasuke glanced at the sleeping girl on his bed, his eyes drifted to the bruise on her neck. He didn't really hurt her that badly, did he? All he did was just lift her face up. His eyes soon caught sight of the unfinished tray of food on the desk. He _tsk_ed. _What an annoying girl… It's no wonder she bruises easily now…_ His gaze returned to his ex-teammate. Really… How would he put up with her in the days to come?

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"WHAT DO YOU _MEAN_ WE'RE _MOVING_?"

Kiki, also angered, barked uncontrollably.

Sasuke suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. Ever since the fiasco with her letter to Naruto and everything, Sakura hadn't exactly been the shy little mouse. In fact, her ranting might have gotten much more annoying and louder than ever before. It didn't help at all that Kiki was supporting her mistress.

"It's procedure," he explained. "We move to different hideouts, so we don't get caught by any ANBU or shinobi from the other countries."

Sakura, sitting Indian-styled and with crossed arms, hmped. "I will _not_ degrade myself as to travel with that . . . that _pedophile_ and his fellow spawn of the devil!"

Kiki let out another bark in agreement.

"We're not traveling with them."

At that sentence, Sakura and Kiki's ears perked up. "We're _not_?"

"No… There's too many people in the base. We usually split up into three groups."

Sakura pondered it for a moment. The fact that she wouldn't be traveling with _Orochimaru_ and _Kabuto_ of all peoples gave her the perfect chance to escape. The only things she needed to worry about were Sasuke and the Oto-nin that would be travelling with them. But of course, she could always make the excuse of going to the bathroom and escape then… _Hm, that could work… I just need to make some diversion, though…_

"Fine then," Sakura said. "I'll listen to you . . . for _now_."

Sasuke glanced at the girl. He wasn't that stupid. He knew she had _something_ planned, and so he had something also planned out just in case she tried anything.

"Good," he smirked. "Just do me a favor."

"_A favor_?" she asked. She and Kiki exchanged looks before she asked, "What _kind_ of a favor?"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"YOU _BASTARD_! UNTIE ME, THIS _INSTANT_!"

"If I do that then how do I know you won't run off?"

"Because your group consists of _all_ the tracker-nin in that damn base!"

"Hn…"

"Fine, be that way! But tell me this much: how come Kiki gets to roam free while_ I'm _tied up like a wild animal?"

"Kiki won't leave you. Plus, I only bound your hands together. That's hardly what I'd call _'tied up like a wild animal_._'_"

"Well, our definitions are different!"

"Sakura, just be quiet and walk."

Sakura shut herself up. Now she only glared at the Uchiha's back as he walked. Her anger was beyond the point of boiling now. Oh, she would get her revenge! She would!

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

When Hinata had woken up, she wasn't all that happy. Of course, she wouldn't be. After all, she had just realized the other night that Naruto could never love her in the way she did to him. How could she even smile?

At that moment, she spotted Sai outside, painting something. She wondered what. She really did want to forget about her realization, so what better way to do so than talk with the asshole who pissed everyone off?

Once she had gotten dressed, she walked over and asked what he was doing. He answered her question nicely, though questioning her whether or not she'd hit him again with her Byakugan to which she laughed.

"So . . . wh-what's the painting's title?" she asked him.

"Who knows?" he shrugged.

"You haven't decided yet?"

"It just doesn't have one…" Sai explained. "I've drawn tens of thousands of pictures in my life, but I've never given any one of them a title."

"But still . . ." Hinata said, "you're usually supposed to . . . to give a painting a title, right? For example, if it's a portrait then it's that person's name… Or even with other pictures, the title might be circumstances at the time or maybe your state of mind or your emotions…"

Sai nodded his head at the Hyuga's advice. "I understand what you're saying, but it's not that I don't give them titles… It's that I can't."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"Not one things comes to me," Sai said. "I just don't . . . _feel_ anything."

"Well, that sure explains why almost everything you say is so insensible!"

The two turned around.

"Na-Naruto-kun!" Hinata almost blushed. Well, so much for forgetting about the other night…

"We're about ready to head out," the knucklehead said, walking over to his teammates. "Yamato-taichou told me to come get you." He glanced at Sai's picture. "Eh, it's nothing special."

"Indeed," Sai replied. "Just like your penis."

Hinata covered her ears. She was Hyuga _heiress_, damn it! She wasn't _supposed_ to hear any of this crap!

"That's _it_!" Naruto yelled. "I'm going to be straight-forward and completely honest! I ABSOLUTELY _HATE_ YOU! IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH ME THEN QUIT IT WITH THAT FAKE SMILE OF YOURS AND START BEING STRAIGHT-FORWARD AND HONEST YOURSELF! IF YOU WANT TO FIGHT, I'LL TAKE YOU ON ANYTIME!"

". . . You don't understand," Sai said. "I just don't think _anything_ of you, one way or the other…" And then he started to pick up his supplies. "Go on ahead," he said. "I'll follow as soon as I've cleaned things up here."

"Here, let me help…" Hinata offered, picking up some book. "_Oh_? This . . . this isn't printed, is it? Did you . . . did you draw this, too?"

"Yeah," Sai answered as the kunoichi handed it to him.

"Oh, r-really?" Hinata asked, amazed by his skills. "A picture book, huh? That's . . . that's really something…"

Meanwhile, Naruto sulked. For some reason, he so did _not_ like the fact that Hinata was even talking to that asshole, let alone praising him. That should be _him_!

"Can . . . can you show it to me along the way s-sometime?" Hinata asked.

"Sorry, but this book isn't finished." Sai explained. "Also, I make a point of not letting other people touch it because it's my older brother's."

_Oh, great… _Naruto could hardly believe it. _Don't tell me he's got a sob story like the Teme!_

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Right now, Sakura was _beyond_ pissed off. She was _beyond_ embarrassed. And right now, she was _beyond_ the point of _not_ embarrassing the Uchiha who was literally _dragging_ her with him to who knows where. Oh, her revenge would come soon! She would make _sure_ of it!

She stopped walking, staying in her spot, glaring at the Uchiha.

Of course, he noticed it—his hand on his sword. He was prepared for _anything_ she'd throw at him this time, whether it'd be throwing sticks and stones or just yelling profanities.

The other shinobi also noticed this and decided to gather around the two ex-teammates. They (along with Sakura and Kiki) wondered how long Sasuke would put up with her. After all, for the past two hours, she had been . . . _err_, rather troublesome. She had cursed at Sasuke and his ancestors, threw about ten tantrums so far, tried to escape at least four times, kicked him a few times too, and she even punched a giant crater into the ground. What was she up to this time?

But what she did . . . _no one _had expected it, not even Sasuke or Kiki who stood by the kunoichi could figure out her plan.

Sakura . . . she . . . she had started _crying_! Now, if this had happened while they were still in Sasuke's room, the Uchiha might have known what to do, but here . . . well, he was unprepared for this kind of thing.

"What's wrong, Miss?" one of the Oto-nin had actually been the one to ask Sakura that question.

"Gee, _I don't know_! I'm stuck a few hundred miles away from home, being dragged across the country and being accused of being something that I'm not! (A/N: yeah… She's still trying to get Orochimaru to not suspect her as Konoha's hunter-nin…) On top of that, I have to be the bitch of some gay guy who kissed his best friend! Gee, what do you _think_ is wrong?"

And when the Oto-nin started talking, Sasuke immediately figured out the kunoichi's plan. She was going to embarrass him in the way that he embarrassed her. He mentally cursed. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, or in this case Sakura.

And as Sakura continued on with her rant, Sasuke walked over to her, grabbed her by the arm, and dragged her away from the crowd. His dark aura told the Oto-nin not to follow them. Kiki also knew when not to voice her opinions and stayed with the group of Oto-nin because now Sakura was screaming rape. It was a really funny sight and, if Naruto were there, he'd be cheering Sakura on.

Once Sasuke deemed they were far away enough, he asked, "What the Hell were you trying to do?"

Sakura smiled at his annoyance. "Having fun," she answered, wickedly. "But of course, I'll stop doing it if you'd cut me loose from these ropes." She held her tied hands out.

"No" was Sasuke's answer.

"Fine," she shrugged, letting her hands fall to her sides as much as they could. "It won't be my fault when those Oto-nin find out you almost had sex with Naruto's sexy jutsu."

"I never—"

"Exactly. So"—she held her hands out again—"Untie me?" she asked ever so innocently.

Sasuke glared at the kunoichi standing in front of him. Since when did she ever get so good at bargaining? And since when did she even get the guts to stand up to him? When the thought of her crush on him being over reached him, for some reason, he didn't seem as glad as he should have been.

"Since when did you change so much?" he accidently said out loud.

"Since you _made_ me this way."

He said no more on the subject. He took out a kunai and slashed the ropes, letting Sakura have the satisfaction that she had won this fight.

She smiled at him before turning to walk away, but he grabbed her arm, turned her around, and smashed his lips onto hers. When the kiss was over, Sakura knew her face must have been priceless because Sasuke smirked at the sight of her mortification.

"That's insurance so that you know I _can_ embarrass you if I choose to."

Sakura said still couldn't believe what had just happened. Did Sasuke just…?

Sasuke's smirk continued to stay on his face. It would appear that some things hadn't changed, after all.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

For the rest of the journey, Sakura had stayed quiet, obeying orders and listening to the Uchiha. Though the Oto-nin and Kiki found it strange, they kept quiet and decided not to ask about it. After all, Sakura's awkward silence told them that something indeed happened between the two ex-teammates, and it was none of their business. And so, the journey went on in silence and, by evening, they were already at the new hideout.

Of course, Sasuke had to check in with Orochimaru and, being the fact that he didn't trust Sakura to be alone for a while without trying to escape, he had brought the kunoichi with him. Orochimaru had been alright with Sakura being there—in fact, they had a . . . _err_, nice conversation before the Sanin had actually made his true intention known.

"My dear Sakura-chan—"

The pink-haired kunoichi almost winced at how creepy that sounded.

"—You've mentioned before that you met with Jiraiya on a weekly basis for a check-up, am I correct?"

"Yes…" Sakura answered, unable to see where this was going. "What about it?"

"Well, I believe you're late for an appointment then." Orochimaru said. Kabuto came into the room, holding a dead toad in his hands along with a letter. "There's a small village from here, just a short walking distance away. You'll find my ex-teammate there, waiting for you at one of the restaurants."

"Oh, _really_?" Sakura asked, trying her hardest not to glare at Kabuto. "But . . . I suppose you're not letting me go alone, are you?"

"Very smart, my dear. Sasuke-kun will accompany you."

"_Only_ him?" Sakura found it hard to believe that Orochimaru wouldn't take this chance to kill his ex-teammate.

"Yes, _only _him. Have fun."

Sakura tried to smile, but she found it quite hard. In fact, why was she the one being tortured? She glanced over to the Uchiha. He didn't show it, but she knew that he didn't like being bossed around either.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Oh, dear god! What's happened to you, Sakura?" Jiraiya asked. "You've gotten so _skinny_! Have you been ill or something? You _know_ Tsunade would kill me even if you just sneeze!"

"Oh, it's nothing to worry about, Jiraiya-sama." she said, smiling. "I've just been so busy that I actually have been forgetting to eat."

Jiraiya frowned at the girl's answer. He'd rather have her ill. "Sakura, now, your job is a very dangerous one. You should be taking care of yourself more. If you keep fasting, you'll fall ill on not just chakra depletion but also energy-wise too."

"Daijōbu," Sakura said. "Kiki's been a good girl, and she's been making me eat a whole lot,"—she turned to the puppy in her purse—"Aren't ya, girl?"

_Arf!_

"Well, that's good. For a second there, I thought I might have needed to give you my _'Eat-something-or-you-might-die' _speech. I had to give it to Naruto once because he only ate ramen, and I don't think you'd apprieciate it if I lump you with him in the same category."

Sakura giggled. "Well, let's be grateful that you don't."

Jiraiya smiled at her, taking a sip of the soup that sat in front of him. "So . . ."—he put a piece of meat in his mouth—"Find any new targets?"

Sakura almost choked on thin air. She really hoped Sasuke's hearing didn't cover as much area as his speed did. What was worst, when she thought about her ex-teammate, her mind immediately went back to earlier that day when they—

She forced her mouth open to speak. "Eh . . . well . . . I—"

Jiraiya chuckled. "Well, there's no need to be embarrassed about it."

Sakura almost gasped. Did he know about it too?

"Being a hunter-nin is a tough job."

She almost let out a sigh of relief. _For a second there, I thought the cat was out of the bag…_

"You might not be able to find a new target in months but, after that, your luck will change for the better."

Sakura tried to smile. "Thanks for the advice."

"No problem. Oh, and did Naruto tell you about his new teammate yet?"

"Well, yes… But Naruto hates him so much that he keeps calling the guy an asshole. You should've seen his recent letter. There's more profanities in there than there are criminals in the Bingo Book."

"_Really_? Well, at least, Naruto's expanding his vocabulary."

"Expanding, worsening… I'm not really sure which is it."

Jiraiya chuckled but, once he stopped, the mood drastically fell. "But on a more serious note, Sakura, Naruto's new teammate—this _Sai_ fellow… Danzo was the one who recommended him."

"_Danzo_?" Sakura asked. "You're joking! Why would Tsunade put someone _he_ recommended on _Naruto's_ team? She knows that—"

"The Elders supported Danzo's idea."

" . . . I see…" Sakura didn't know what else to say.

Danzo… When it came to him, everything wasn't pretty. The man had competed for the chair of Hokage with the Third, but Danzo was very different from him. The man was an overly serious, militaristic, logical thinking leader. And since Tsunade was a student of the Third and the granddaughter of the Shodai Hokage, he hated her. And being Tsunade's apprentice, he also hated Sakura.

"Is Danzo planning something?"

Jiraiya shrugged. "Don't know. So far, my sources haven't found any useful information. But I suggest you be careful. Danzo might start setting his eyes on you now that he's got someone watching Naruto."

"Yeah, I know…" _Just what is that man planning?_

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Sakura bit her thumb. Danzo wasn't someone to take lightly. She _knew_ he had the manpower to take out anyone he wanted, including her mentor and Naruto. Needless to say, Sakura was worried. And even more pointless to say, she wanted to meet this "_Sai_" person to see what his true intentions were.

"_Urgh_!" She threw her head back, staring at the night sky. "This is so _frustrating_! What is that man planning? Just what does he want…?" _Naruto, you better to be safe…_ "I swear, he—_KYAA_!"

She was so distracted that she didn't even see that she walking towards the stairs. And now that she realized it, it was a bit too late. She was already starting to fall. _Oh, wait…_ She opened her eyes. She wasn't falling anymore… Something, or rather some_one_, had caught her.

"Hn… Annoying girl…"

And now she wasn't grateful anymore, she was just plainly pissed off for the, maybe, tenth time today! And apparently, her hand flew straight for his face.

Unfortunately for her, Sasuke caught her wrist smirking at her. "Trying to slap me again? Some hunter-nin you are…"

Sakura recoiled for his touch. "Shut up… And how many times do I have to tell you? I'm _not_ Konoha's hunter-nin."

He shrugged. "Whatever you say."

She scoffed at his arrogant tone and then huffed, walking off.

"Oy!"

"_WHAT_?" Sakura swore, if he was going to insult her again, she'd—

"The hideout is"—he pointed in the opposite direction from where Sakura was going—"that way."

The kunoichi could feel her face reddening, but she quickly stomped off in the direction that Sasuke had pointed in. Meanwhile, the Uchiha just smirked at her antics and when he heard her mumble under her breath, whispering profanities at him. It would appear that she had gotten more interesting in the years that had passed…

* * *

**Phew! That chapter is done! Now on to the next! Oh, and for those who read _Mirrorcle World_, I'm updating that one next so please wait for it, kay? Thank you for your patience, thank you for reading this chapter, and please review!**


	8. Episode 8

-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, the Elders send Sakura off as a hunter-nin, wishing for her death as a way to weaken Tsunade's political powers. Sakura agrees to prove them wrong, but what she didn't know was that Orochimaru's involved! Oh, god… Just what did she get herself into?

* * *

**Yippie! I finally got a new chapter up! Hip-hip-hooray! Sorry it took a while, but I was just reading some of the new Naruto chapters so that this story won't go all haywire. However, the latest chapter with all the zombie peoples has showed me that _anything_—and I mean, _anything_—can happen in _Naruto_, and so I believe I have some free reign now. Even though I had free reign before since this is _my_ fanfic, I wanted it to go along with the manga and stuff, but I've decided to wing most of it now. However, this fanfic will still coincide with my other fanfic _Mirrorcle World_, got it? And speaking of coinciding, this chapter coincides with _Mirrorcle World_'s Episode Six, so most of this chapter might look familiar to some of you, kay? I promise there is a few differences. So . . . please enjoy!**

**Oh, and so you guys know: the first part of when Sakura is, like, bored, there's a small summary of how things are going with her capture and stuff. Just in case you guys forgot. Also, there's two small parts in here that wasn't included in _Mirrorcle World_. And warning, Sasuke's just a bit OOC in those parts. Just so you know. **

* * *

Episode Eight

~His Anger, Hinata's and Her Worry~

"Right now, for the _real_ problem, I've already told you the concrete plans for the mission up ahead." Yamato said. "Our objective is purely capture. Under no circumstances must the target be killed even if it results in battle. If they are killed then we will have lost a valuable information source. This mission is more difficult than simply defeating the enemy. Given that it's a target mission, I'll be the first to go in, and you three will act as back-up. The strategy is simple. First, I will restrain the target. Second, if I fail to restrain them and a battle arises in that situation, you will all prepare to fight. I'll signal you in that case. And if we reach a situation like that then we will fight via the buddy system. When one person moves, the other will look after them. The principle of the system is mutual support. Now . . . I'll decide on the buddies. First, Naruto and Sai. Second, Hinata and myself."

"But—"

"Hinata, you are the Hyuga clan's heiress—not only that, but you are the only one of this team who knows any medical jutsu. So that you are not injured, I will be with you."

Hinata didn't try to argue the matter any further but Naruto, other the other hand, was furious. First of all, Hinata was really the only person he actually knew who was on the team, and he didn't really trust Yamato yet with her safety. And secondly and most importantly, "Why the Hell am I paired up with that—"

"_Pardon_?" And Yamato the Scary Faced returned.

And not wanting to see that face anymore, Naruto quickly shut up, though he made a note to complain to Sakura in his letter later on.

"So," Yamato continued, scary face gone. "Keeping all that in mind, this isn't exactly normal, but we will spend some time the next few days on a simulation for team playing. I know nothing about all of you except for what's in your files. I would like to know about things like your fighting methods, battle skills, and array of jutsu and, through getting to know each other, smoothen up your teamwork. You might think I'm being too serious, but that's how I do things, so put your all in it."

And so, for a few days, the team trained, trying to improve their teamwork. However, thanks to Sai and Naruto's constant bickering, they were unable to make much progress. And usually, after these sessions, Naruto would always go and train with Hinata as she was really the only one he'd actually talk to. It helped them both greatly. Naruto needed something to do to cool down after letting Sai get to him, and Hinata just needed the training. And together, they improved.

The nights were the same. After dinner, Naruto would get a letter from Sakura. Hinata tired of watching from afar and sometimes sat down with him to read the kunoichi's recent letter. Hinata even wrote some of Naruto's letters for him. Of course, the next day, Sakura had asked Naruto to stop forcing Hinata to do that, though she herself had preferred the Hyuga's handwriting.

And as Hinata wrote down Naruto's words for him, she slowly realized that the bond between Sakura and him was more like siblings'. That was a great relief to her. She still had a chance. But she never found herself thinking like that. No, she was much too worried about Naruto. And spending more time with him, she started to worry more about Sakura. How was she doing and was she alright?

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Oh, I'm dying! I'm _dying_!" Sakura cried as she slammed her forehead against the wall, ignoring Kiki's disapproving barks. Yes, the kunoichi was dying—dying of boredom, that is, and soon to be dying because she kept hitting her head against the wall!

"There's _nothing_ to do!"

And indeed, there really was nothing to do. She had already checked off everything on her list of "_What-to-do-as-a-captive/honored-guest-in-Oto_." Try to escape? Check times a thousand. Go through the Uchiha's things? Check times two. Find things to blackmail him? Check (although she couldn't find anything to do so). Throw things at that chicken-ass hairdo of his? Check, check, check. Etc., etc., insert things that Naruto would try and do to get on Sasuke's nerves, etc. Piss off the Uchiha? Check times infinity (although she had to do so to actually _finish_ this list).

She had done _everything_ she wanted to, and she wasn't even held captive for a _month_ yet! Oh, god! Sure, she was allowed to leave the room now, but that was only when Sasuke would escort her to meet Jiraiya (and he'd be watching from who knows where but somewhere where Jiraiya couldn't see him). And then there was that one incident where Orochimaru had to switch bases. Luckily for her, Kabuto and Orochimaru went off in a different direction from Sasuke. She would have _died_ if she had to travel with the likes of Satin's whacko spawn!

Unfortunately, though, Sasuke had bound her hands behind her back and dragged her in front of his group of ninja. Embarrassed, she had come up with a plan to escape—a plan where she could take her revenge on the Uchiha by embarrassing him! Ooh, how _that_ went! She could always hear one Oto-nin talking about it as they passed the hall by her room. However, there was that _one_ event…

She shook her head furiously. She didn't even want to _think_ about it! After all, Sasuke only did it to shut her up. He… She groaned as she felt her face heating up. Oh, why did he even do that?

She soon found herself watching memories of her and her friends from Konoha 11 again on the present Hinata had given her before she had left Konoha, trying to forget about that one event—luckily, Orochimaru had actually _allowed_ her to keep her things. Her plan worked. She had completely forgotten about that event when the Uchiha came into the room.

She quickly hid her card and sighed _loudly_.

The Uchiha ignored her.

She sighed _again_.

And he ignored her _again_.

And so, she pulled out a whole series of questions—most of them useless for any black-mailing purposes since he wouldn't answer any of those. And then she pulled out her ultimate question, one that would have had Sasuke spitting out his drink if he were actually drinking something.

"Train me, would ya?"

. . .

. . .

And he turned to leave the room cuz he was _so NOT _going to give Sakura a chance to punch him. Nah-uh.

"DAMN IT, UCHIHA!" And she grabbed the nearest, breakable thing and chucked it at him.

✿｡.:***That Night***:.｡✿

For some reason, Sasuke hesitated. God dammit! He had faced off with Orochimaru _hundreds_ of times before, so why couldn't he open the door to his own room? Oh, wait, that's right. Cuz he _knew_ that a _severely_ pissed off Sakura was waiting for him. And when she was pissed off, things really got out of hand.

He sighed. _Might as well get it over with…_

But when he opened the door, surprisingly, he wasn't met with a series of shrieks or punches or a mix of both. Instead, he caught sight of the kunoichi sleeping soundly. He walked over to her sleeping form, sitting on the bed, just . . . watching her. His thoughts went back to her request from earlier that day. He didn't know why he reacted that way, he just _did_. Of course, at first, he had thought that Sakura had only been joking. But when she started shucking breakable stuff (even Kiki) at him, he realized he had made a grave mistake when denying her.

Now that he gave it some thought, there was _some_ reason for her sudden request. He knew for a fact that Tsunade had taught her, but how much he didn't know. And then there was their former sensei, Kakashi. The jonin had been more focused with the Uchiha and Naruto than with Sakura, so she didn't get the education she needed in order to hold her own against enemies like Orochimaru. And so, if you added all that up, Sakura was only a super strong medical nin. And if one of her opponents were to get past her super-human strength, she'd be a sitting duck.

Sasuke ran a hand though his hair and sighed. How annoying could _one_ girl get?

Suddenly, she stirred. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open, but that didn't stop her from catching sight of her ex-teammate. She didn't greet him like she normally did. Instead, she rolled onto her other side and crossed her arms.

Sasuke saw this, of course. "_Tch_, would you stop your sulking?"

No answer.

He sighed again. "_Annoying_…"

"_WHAT WAS THAT_?"

But Sasuke caught her hand before she was able to slap him again. He pulled her closer to him, close enough that their noses were almost touching.

"Would you stop trying to slap me all the time?" he asked her.

Again, she didn't answer him, also trying to hide her slight blush. Her eyes drifted to a corner.

He tched. "If you expect me to train you then you better get out of that habit."

Sakura's eyes widened. "You mean…?"

"Yes… But only when Orochimaru and Kabuto aren't around, and—"

But he hadn't a chance to finish his sentence because Sakura tackled him into a bear hug, making him fall on his back.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You're _still_ annoying, though…"

But Sakura let it slide this time. She wouldn't let _anything_ ruin her mood now.

Kiki, who was on the floor and watching this, just wagged her tail. If _Naruto-kun and Hinata-san could see this scene now_, she thought (if dogs could think thoughts), _I think they'd be really happy…_

✿｡.:***A few days later***:.｡✿

"Excellent capture, Sai…" Yamato complimented the artist. "The simulation ends here."

At that moment, Naruto came out of the forest, all covered in ink and paint.

"Na-_Naruto-kun_?" Hinata asked, worried about him. "What happened to you?"

But the knucklehead didn't answer. Instead, he grabbed Sai by the collar of his shirt, threatening to punch him.

"What is it?" Sai asked, all calm-like.

"Do you even know what the word _'companion'_ means?" Naruto asked as he released Sai.

"Of course, I know." Sai said as he wrote the word on one of his scrolls. "What about it?"

But Hinata could see the fury building up in her teammate's eyes as he gritted his teeth. "Na-Naruto-kun, calm down…"

"Please don't lay the blame on others for your own minimal amount of ability," Sai said. "Had you not fallen for the captain's _obvious_ provocation, I would have been able to stay hidden without being exposed. You went and had your clone transform into me. Then, you made it obvious by using your own jutsu. It's not pleasant to fight while looking after someone who can't even keep himself in check. I just worked with the success of the mission in mind, and—"

Naruto shoved him and began to walk away. "I will _never_ consider you a companion or a member of Team Kakashi."

Yamato just shook his head. "This really was pointless, wasn't it?"

_Naruto-kun…_ Hinata was definitely worried.

"What would Sasuke-kun have done in that situation?" Sai asked, still smiling. "Fought while looking after you? As a companion and a member of Team Kakashi?"

Naruto stopped in his tracks, his reaction unclear.

_No…! _Hinata thought. _Naruto-kun can't hold on much longer…_

"The one who betrayed the village and injured you…" Sai asked, "You still refer to him as your _friend_?"

"If it's to save that friend," Naruto said, turning back to glare at the Root member. "I'll do _anything_! Even if that means working with _you_!" And with that, Naruto went on to go train by himself and to work off his anger.

"Why does he care so much about Sasuke?" Sai asked Hinata.

"Naruto-kun thinks of Sasuke-kun . . . as a brother," the Hyuga answered. "Though Sakura-san could tell you more, I think that's why… You have a brother, too. Can't . . . can't you understand that feeling?"

"No, not at all." Sai answered. "Remember what we were saying about picture titles…? I have none of what you call _'emotions_.'"

"You say you don't feel anything… You say you don't have emotions… What . . . what do you mean?"

"Just what I said." And with that, Sai went off in the opposite direction.

She glanced back at Naruto. He was trembling and dragging his nails through the bark of a tree. Hinata couldn't stand seeing him that way…

"In that case," she said to Sai, "if you have a brother then can't you imagine what it's like when he's not there?"

"_Hmm_…? Oh, yeah, of course," Sai answered—that fake smile still on his face. "My brother's already dead."

Hinata's eyes widened. "Then . . . then you really should—"

"Hmm, should I have used that expression?"

Confused, Hinata could only asked, "_Anoo_ . . . is there something you want to say?"

"Oh, not really… I just . . . didn't know what kind of expression to put on my face when my brother died."

_This guy…_

"Alright, that's enough talking." Yamato said, crossing his arms. He had heard just about enough. "We're about to go, so go get your stuff."

"Sai," Hinata said, her eyes raging with fury. "To be honest, if Sakura-san were here, she'd send you flying right there… I'd even dare to use my gentle fist on you. I told you before that, if you bad-mouthed Sasuke-kun one more time, I wouldn't hold back on Sakura-san's behalf… But I didn't do so because of what Naruto-kun had just said. That to save Sasuke-kun, he'd even work with someone like you who bad-mouths him. No matter who you are, to save Sasuke-kun, I don't think Sakura-san would like it if I hurt you."

"Hinata-chan, you're very . . . gentle and protective of Naruto, aren't you?" Sai asked. "And it's not just for this Sakura-san's sake, is it?"

Hinata didn't answer. Did she need to?

"I don't understand feelings like those," Sai continued. "It was in a book I read—"

"Come on!" Naruto yelled. "Let's get going! If we're not there by noon tomorrow then this will all be for nothing!"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

That night, Hinata couldn't sleep. She was worried—that was an understatement, but she was worried. What if Sakura had been wrong? What if she _wasn't_ the best choice to watch over Naruto? She wondered if she were strong enough to actually help him bring back Sasuke… Would she be as much help as Sakura might have been? Or any other kunoichi, for that matter? Oh, god, she had so many doubts…

_Huh?_ She glanced outside. _Isn't that Naruto-kun? _She got out of bed and ran out.

"Oh, Hinata-chan," he smiled at her. "You couldn't sleep either?"

The Hyuga didn't know how to answer, but she knew she was turning red. What was she to say? What was she to do?

"Come and sit down then." The blonde gestured to the seat next to him.

And so Hinata sat next to him, wondering what he was doing what hear. To her, it seemed like he was just looking at the stars… Should she offer to whip him up some ramen?

"You know," he finally said to her after a few minutes, "when I wrote to Sakura that we'd meet with that spy tomorrow, she wrote back in five minutes telling me good luck and then . . . in the next few sentences, she told me to be careful…" He gave a wry chuckle. "I guess she's still worried about me, thinks of me like a small child… Doesn't she? Maybe she doesn't think I'd be able to pull off this mission, after all…"

"No…! It's probably not like that…!" Hinata argued.

"_Huh_? What do you mean?"

"Sakura-san . . . For her to worry about you, it's just normal!" the Hyuga explained. "Of course, she'd worry! When you went to get Sasuke to return to Konoha two years ago, you and the rest came back critically injured! She's . . . she's probably hoping nothing like that ever happens again! Naruto-kun, tomorrow . . . there's not just the probability that you'd get injured; there's also the chance that the Akatsuki had laid a trap for you! For her to worry . . . it's only natural when the odds are like this! She's not worried that you can't pull off the mission—she's just worried about your well-being! She wants to make sure you're okay, but she's . . . she's unable to be here, so . . . so…"

Naruto smiled then. "Arigato, Hinata-chan!" he said. "You know, when you first became a part of this team, I had thought of you like how I think of Sai right now—just a replacement, you know? But now . . ."—he hugged her—"I'm glad _you're_ the one Sakura chose to replace her."

"Na-Naruto-kun…!" Hinata's face was as red as the sun.

"I really _do_ like you, Hinata-chan!"

And it turned out that that was all Hinata need to fall asleep . . . literally.

"Hey, Hinata-chan? _Hinata-chan_! Why did you faint again?"

✿｡.:***The Next Day***:.｡✿

Sakura was awoken by a rude someone shaking her. "No, mommy…" she groaned. "Five more minutes…"

Sasuke rolled his eyes while Kiki barked in a snickering manner. The Uchiha decided that now would be a good time to get his payback. (After all, Sakura had slapped him again earlier when he tried to wake her up.)

He concentrated some of his chakra into his finger and, using that finger, he caressed Sakura's neck.

"_EEP_!" She jumped out of bed, immediately rubbing her neck. She glared at the smirking Uchiha. "_You_! Why _the Hell_ did you send your _Chidori_ through my body?"

He shrugged. "You wouldn't wake up."

"And pray tell, why do I have to wake up so _early_?" Suddenly, a horrible thought came to her mind. "Don't tell me we're moving again!"

"Use your head, will ya?"

Sakura, ignoring that rude comment, just thought it through. What was special about today? _Hm… Oh! Orochimaru and Kabuto weren't around since they had to do something. And if they weren't around… _"Oh! You're going to train me today?" she asked.

"What else?" Sasuke replied. "You have five minutes to wash up."

"Fine…" And she went off into the bathroom. She decided to take a short shower since she could always take a longer one after her spar with Sasuke. During that time, she also brushed her teeth and trimmed her hair a bit. But as she finished, she caught sight of the bracelet her friends had given her. The black gem was a weird gray, and it soon turned a light orange. Was Naruto about to go into battle? She had a bad feeling…

There was a knock on the door. "Done yet?"

"Oh, yeah." She quickly put on the bracelet and walked out of the bathroom. But her thoughts kept going back to her bad feeling. "Hey," she said, almost hesistantly. "I have a question."

Sasuke sighed, not wanting to hear another one of stupid questions. "What is it?"

"Where did Orochimaru and Kabuto go off to?"

"To meet with one of their contacts, I believe. Why?"

"Oh… N-no reason… I was just . . . curious."

Sasuke didn't pry into the subject anymore, but he could tell that Sakura was in deep thought. The kunoichi just realized that today was the day Naruto and Hinata would go off to meet with the Akatsuki spy.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Everyone was anxious as they got into place. They had gotten there an hour earlier as a precaution to check for any traps. There were none, but they didn't let down their guard. If they did, they might have lost their chance. They waited once they were done patrolling the area until finally the spy came. However, they couldn't get a good look at his face—his hood covered him too well.

But either way, Sasori—or rather, Yamato _dressed up _as Sasori—crossed the bridge to him.

"It's been a long time, Sasori-sama," the spy said, greeting the supposed Akatsuki member and taking off his hood.

His face shocked both Naruto and Hinata. _That's—_

"It has been five years," the spy continued.

—_Yakushi Kabuto!_

"Were you followed?" Yamato as Sasori asked.

"No, it's safe…" Kabuto said.

"How are you?"

"When your jutsu was lifted and I remembered who I really was, I felt somewhat disoriented. I am still somewhat heavy-headed."

✿｡.:***Somewhere nearby***:.｡✿

"Him again!" Naruto couldn't believe his eyes.

"How is it Kabuto?" Hinata asked. "Isn't he Orochimaru's right-hand man?"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"I have some questions for you…"

"I have little time, so please make it brief." Kabuto said. "It was a great risk to slip away from Orochimaru to come here."

"Tell me . . . about the location of your base and about Uchiha Sasuke."

"We have many bases," Kabuto answered. "To keep from being discovered, we change on a weekly basis. There are, of course, bases in other countries besides Oto. Orochimaru's spies enter those countries and guide us, but we have various movement methods which can sometimes be cumbersome… Our current base is hidden on a small island in a lake to the north. We will move from there in three days. Uchiha Sasuke is also there."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"The wind's really strong," Naruto said, cupping his hands around his ears. "I can't pick up _anything_ they're saying!"

"Th-that's why we're only supposed to be this close," Hinata explained. "Our scent and sound are carried away by the wind…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Suddenly, Kabuto threw his shuriken at a nearby bush, though it was only a rabbit he had sensed. He let out a sigh of relief before going back to his conversation. "By the way," he said, "about that one task you asked me of, Sasori-sama—"

_Not good!_ Yamato thought. _I still needed to get a few more things out of him but, if I continue this conversation any longer, I'll blow my cover!_

"Even after his transmigration, Orochimaru cast a jutsu on the cellular specimen of the leftover corpse in order to protect it." Kabuto explained. "I was unable to perform any data analysis of that specimen."

"I see…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Just what is he doing?" Naruto was furious. "Why doesn't he go ahead with the capture already?"

"This is Kabuto we're talking about here, Naruto-kun," Hinata explained. "If he were to get away then things would end here… Taking things almost too carefully here is just what Yamato-taichou needs to do."

"Still, if he were to take things _too_ carefully than he needs to and ends up arousing suspicions then he'll lose his chance to capture the target." Sai added.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"On that note,"—Kabuto held out his hand—"please give me the item we talked about. I can't continue to stay here much longer. If it's found out I'm meeting you like this, I'll be killed."

"Very well…" _Shit, the end of the line…It's now or never!_ Yamato quickly took out a kunai but, before he could strike, an unwanted guest appeared.

"Your conversation seems quite amusing…" Orochimaru came behind Kabuto, a snake wrapped around the traitor's body. "Mind if I joined in?"

_He was followed!_

Before the snake was able to suffocate Kabuto, he jumped out of his cloak and to Sasori/Yamato's side. "I almost wasn't able to step back in time," he said. "But thanks to you taking out your kunai, Sasori-sama, I was…"

_I suppose I've at least escaped detection for now… Still, now that Orochimaru's here, what should I do?_

"Ah, that cloak of yours… It brings back memories, Sasori…" Orochimaru said.

"So . . . you followed Kabuto here then?"

"I just wanted to give you some thanks… That lovely boy there you sent me . . ." the snake explained, "I was able to make quite good use of him… In order for me to develop a new jutsu, I needed to conduct experiments on well over a hundred live human subjects. Thanks to that boy's medical ninjutsu, I was able to use the same test subject any number of times. I have quite a hard time coming across test subjects, after all…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"What do we do _now_?"

"All . . . all we can do, Naruto-kun, is wait for the captain's signal…" But Hinata's worried tone only went noticed by Sai. Naruto's face had drastically changed, more demonic as his anger grew with each passing second… What was happening?

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

_In all likelihood, me taking on Orochimaru by myself is out of the question. But if I call in the others then Kabuto will know of my identity and capturing him will prove difficult… Even if I try and work with him and subdue Orochimaru, my fighting style will make it clear in an instant that I'm not Sasori. Either way, I'm just left with the choice of defeating him or just retreating, but just one or the other—_

Kabuto focused his chakra into his hands and _Slash! _He attacked Yamato, completely destroying his disguise. Quickly, Yamato jumped back.

_Did he figure it out? No… Just what's going on?_

"Striking Shadow Snakes!"

Countless of snakes shot out of Orochimaru's sleeve, all aimed for the team leader. They wrapped around the helpless Yamato, one even bit him on the neck. Luckily, that was only a substitution…

Orochimaru was now amused. "A substitution using the wood style…" he said to the real Yamato who stood on the opposite side of the bridge. "You couldn't be…"

"Orochimaru-sama, is that the _real_ Sasori?" Kabuto asked.

"No, it is not…" Orochimaru answered, chuckling a bit. "Kabuto, are you telling me that _you_, one of Sasori's subordinates, don't even know his real face?"

"Well, he was a gloomy individual, after all… Always hiding in that puppet of his…"

"What are you talking about?" Yamato asked, clutching the injury that Kabuto was able to inflict onto his arm. "Kabuto, you're supposed to be an Akatsuki _spy_! You should have been under the effects of Sasori's jutsu!"

"Ah, yes, that jutsu…" Kabuto chuckled. "Orochimaru-sama had freed me from it quite some time ago…"

"I wasn't expecting you to change sides, acting as though you were still under the effects of Sasori's jutsu…" Yamato said, cursing under his breath. "I suppose this means that you fell prey to Orochimaru's jutsu then…"

"No, not exactly… All I fell prey to was Orochimaru's magnificent way of thinking…" (A/N: it took me a while to actually _force_ myself to type that.) "I chose this path myself. But tell me, who are you anyway? We already had suspicions that Sasori might have been killed, but regardless we came with the intent of killing him, so this is quite a mishap…"

"Kabuto, I'll tell you about this little boy afterwards… But first things first,"—the Sanin turned to Yamato—"why don't you call out those three little mice you've got hiding in the bushes?"

_So . . . he's already seen through everything…_ Yamato cursed again and signaled for his team.

"So it's you again?" Kabuto asked, recognizing Naruto immediately.

"I've seen that face a number of times…" Orochimaru crackled. "Since the Kyuubi boy is here, let's play with them a little bit…" He laughed again and then spoke to Naruto. "I'll give you the pleasure of telling you which has gotten stronger: you or Sasuke-kun…"

"Give—Sasuke—_back_!" Naruto snarled, shocking his teammates. His teeth grew larger—sharper, into fangs—and a red chakra surrounded him.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Sakura fell to her knees. Of course, she was tired. Dodging every single jutsu that came from Orochimaru's star pupil was definitely exhausting. Landing three punches to his stomach and sending him flying—of which was her goal—and then healing those bruises with less than enough chakra was even more tiring but rewarding. _That'd teach him to underestimate me again!_

And so now, she was just watching him train by himself since she decided she was satisfied and since he decided he had enough of her punches (although the Uchiha would never admit it). She couldn't return back to the room, however. The Uchiha wouldn't allow her to go anywhere without him since he didn't want her "_getting lost_" and wandering off to an exit . . . _again_.

But, needless to say, she was now bored, left to just play with the bracelet Naruto and the rest of her friends had given her—her bad feeling from before had been lifted somewhat. She remembered its mysterious power: first, there was that nice little barrier addition. During her battles with those criminals of the Bingo Book, she had found it a lot more than useful. Of course, when she had encountered Orochimaru and the Oto-nin, it had helped _so much_! (Note, the sarcasm.) But then when it came to Sasuke . . . let's just say it was completely useless—maybe even more than useless! It was only after she had written to Naruto to ask about that facility that she found out it would not work if she was not in any clear danger (to which she didn't believe and forced it out of the knucklehead that they didn't think she would meet up with some people—AKA the Uchiha—so they didn't safeguard it against them.)

Then, it stored people's chakra and allowed her to use their jutsu. That had come in handy. When she had been sparring with the Uchiha, she had wanted to try it out some more, and it turned out pretty useless, after all, though she kept it a secret from her ex-teammate. Besides, he didn't really ask her about that weapons summoning jutsu of Tenten's, so she was safe . . . for now. She also realized that the bracelet's black gem would turn to a respective color whenever one of her friends was in battle.

_I wonder if they knew that too…_ But she shrugged it off. Knowing her friends only had a night to make this bracelet, they had probably rushed it and forgot to check it or something.

_Itai!_ She looked down at her wrist. _Did they also not check to see if it would _burn_ my hand? _But then, she saw the color of the gem: orange… With an ominous red surrounding it… Her eyes widened. Sakura was worried—that was more of an understatement. She was so worried she didn't even feel it as her wrist continued to burn, and she continued watching as the red color completely took over the orange.

_Naruto… Did something happen during his mission?_

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Kabuto laughed. "There is no _'giving back_,' Naruto-kun. Here, let me explain it to you. Sasuke-kun came to us of his own free will. It's about time you got over it. Going on like that is hardly behaving like a man—"

"You, be quiet!" Hinata yelled. "You don't know anything about Naruto-kun's feelings!"

"_Oh_? What's this?" Orochimaru asked. He chuckled. "I had thought Sakura-chan was your teammate. What happened? Did she abandon you too, Naruto-kun?"

"_SHUT UP_!" Naruto screamed.

"Heheh… If you want to know about Sasuke-kun, why don't you try _forcing_ it out of me? That is, if you can."

A series of explosions went off, but Naruto charged at Orochimaru—the red chakra completely engulfed him, and it looked like . . . he had _tails_?

He grabbed Orochimaru's face, the red chakra burning the Sanin, and chucked the Sanin's body into the forest where it left a path of fire. And Naruto's next target: Kabuto…

Hinata's eyes were wide with shock. _Naruto-kun…? What is this?_

Yamato, however, watched with his wary eyes. _So it's true… It ended up happening just as I was told…_ He had hoped something like this would not happen…

_"Judging from the appearance of its chakra, its tails would continue to increase at a rapid rate…" Jiraiya explained to Tsunade and Yamato. "And in the end—"_

_"—there will be nine of them," Kakashi finished. "Exactly how many tails did you witness?"_

_"Heh," Jiraiya laughed at the memory as he began took off his jacket. "There have been only two times in my life where I almost died… The first time, I was left with six ribs and both arms broken, as well as a number of ruptured organs, after trying to take a peek at some women bathing… Tsunade, that was when you had your way with me."_

_But the Hokage just crossed her arms and _hmp_ed._

_"And then the second time"—the large scar that completely covered the Sanin's chest surprised them all—"That was when I was training with Naruto after having witnessed his Kyuubi chakra form a fourth tail. With rage acting as the trigger, the tails of the demon fox increased. He was able to retain consciousness up until the third tail formed. But once the fourth one sprouted, he lost all appreciation for his actions and a pure destructive impulse. It was as if he had become a miniature Kyuubi himself."_

_"Even with the Yondaime's seals, it went _that_ far?" Kakashi asked._

_"I'm not sure of the specifics, but there's one thing I can say…" Jiraiya replied. "It would appear that the Yondaime's seal is in the process of weakening. And another problem… In his Kyuubi form, he is covered by a fox-shaped shroud formed of chakra that, at first sight, looks to be protecting him. But in reality, it's doing quite the opposite. It's constantly causing damage to his body. By the time the fourth tail had formed, his body was not only covered by the chakra shroud but also in his own blood… He went on rampage, despite a number of serious injuries… Once the chakra shroud dissipated, Naruto's body recovered through its internal Kyuubi chakra. But if he continues such a rapid cycle of injury followed by accelerated healing then Naruto's body will weaken, and his lifespan will be shortened."_

_"That is why we need you, Yamato." Tsunade said. "You who had inherited the cells of the Shodai Hokage."_

_"Currently, it is only you who possess enough potential to control a jinchūriki." Jiraiya explained. "And as luck would have it, the Shodai's necklace is already hanging around Naruto's neck. We're counting on you."_

"Naruto-kun, I see you've developed very nicely as a jinchūriki…" Kabuto smiled wickedly. _The Kyuubi is becoming ever stronger, no doubt…_

_Jinchūriki? _Hinata glanced again at Naruto. Just what was happening?

"My, oh my…" Orochimaru had just come back from his fall—his facial mask burned to shreds, revealing the face of the body he was currently using. "You sure have become quite the jinchūriki, Naruto-kun… And that explains why you were chosen to watch over him." He chuckled, now speaking to Yamato. "It would appear that my experiments were of some help, after all… I should think Konoha would be a bit more appreciative, wouldn't you agree . . . dearest guinea pig of mine?"

* * *

**Goodie! This chapter is done! Yay! Now I can rest!**

**. . . .**

**Actually, I think I'll work on some other fanfics, so yeah… See ya next time, peoples! I promise the next chapter will have more unseen scenes than in this chapter where it just followed a lot of the things in _Mirrorcle World _and the regular _Naruto_ manga. So . . . yeah, please review!**

**Oh, and, if you have time, please check out my oneshots! If you like _Howl's Moving Castle _then you'll like my _Momentum_ oneshot. If you like _Spirited Away _then please check out _Real Emotion_—the _shortest_ oneshot you'll ever read—and _Unable to Stay, Unwilling to Leave_. And if you like SasuSaku, please read _Always with you_, _Guilty_, _BALLAD_, and 영원한사랑 & 여성시대—minor Kishimoto bashing in that last one. And if you like NaruHina, please read _Appears_. (I think I've asked you to read that oneshot already though.) Also, if you're against Karin and are pro-SasuSaku, please read** _**Z! Z! Z! Zip! Zap! Zipangu!**_ **Thank you and please review!**

**Also, yay me! This is, like, the _longest_ chapter I've ever written! Including the author's note, there is about 7,077 words in this chapter! Yay me!**


	9. Episode 9

-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, the Elders send Sakura off as a hunter-nin, wishing for her death as a way to weaken Tsunade's political powers. Sakura agrees to prove them wrong, but what she didn't know was that Orochimaru's involved! Oh, god… Just what did she get herself into?

* * *

**Hip-hip-hooray! I got the new chapter up! Sorry it was so late, but I didn't get much inspiration this past month and so… I was really busy with my fanfic _Akatsuki no Kuruma_. It ended, and I went to work on its sequel. I almost forgot about this fanfic. _Shinobi, Mirrorcle World _isn't doing any better. I have no inspiration for that fanfic, and so I'm just trying to get this fanfic to catch up to its counterpart, kay? Right now, this chapter coincides with _Mirrorcle World_'s Episode Seven and Eight. Also, just keep in mind that I'm going to be skipping some of Naruto and Orochimaru's battle since it's in _Mirrorcle World _already.**

**Thank you and please enjoy!**

* * *

Episode Nine

~His Lost of Control,The Kyuubi's Power, Her Submission, and Sai's Betrayal~

"_Guinea pig_?" Kabuto asked, staring at Yamato. "Just who is this person?"

"Well, you see…" Orochimaru started as he fixed his face. "The first Hokage was a shinobi possessing the most unique of abilities… The wood style ninjutsu… What's more, he was also able to bend the tailed beasts to his own will. Oh, how I coveted those _gifts_ of his… Having obtained data on the Shodai's genomes from his remains, I carried out an experiment in which his genetic traits were sliced into the cells of sixty different children, my test subjects. But their bodies didn't seem to like the foreign DNA, to say the least… They died by the dozens, one after another… And here I thought they all shared the same fate. To think that there was a lone survivor!"

Hinata stared at her team leader, shocked. _Yamato-taichou . . . he used to be Orochimaru's _experiment_?_

Kabuto smirked. "Well then, it seems you'll be able to get your hands on what one might call a long overdue research sample."

Orochimaru chuckled. "Yes… But before that,"—he turned his attention back to Naruto—"I would wish to see our Sasuke-kun fight the Kyuubi boy once. I wonder which has gotten stronger…"

"He isn't _yours_…" And suddenly, from his chakra shroud, Naruto sprouted two extra tails in just a blink of the eye. "IN MY PRESENCE, DON'T YOU _DARE_ TALK OF SASUKE OF IF HE BELONGS TO _YOU_!" An explosion of chakra, threads of it, flew into the air like whips.

Yamato's eyes widened. "_That's_…!"

Hinata shifted her eyes at her teammate, her eyes now filled with worry. _What is that . . . that chakra?_

Sai held his hand in front of his face. _This air… It hurts!_

As Orochimaru stared down at Naruto—no, the _Kyuubi_—he couldn't help but smile at his fortune. _How amusing…_ he thought.

_No doubt about it, _Yamato thought, cursing. _That's the demon-fox shroud… And three tails already…_

_This chakra . . . it's terrifying…_ Hinata thought, Goosebumps all over her. _I can tell by just how it feels on my skin… This isn't any type of chakra that can be controlled!_

_So . . . _Sai thought, his eyes narrowing. _This is Uzumaki Naruto with the power of the Kyuubi…_

Kabuto focused his chakra into his palm and charged at Naruto while his back was turned. But with the Kyuubi's chakra in the air, Naruto felt the vibrations as Kabuto moved and turned around. He let out a horrifying roar, and another explosion of chakra erupted. It was so powerful that Kabuto was sent all the way across the bridge and into the forest. But Kabuto wasn't the only one hit; Hinata was sent back, and the bridge was cut in half and was now collapsing.

Moving quickly, Yamato hurried with his hand signs and used his jutsu to support his half of the bridge.

Orochimaru quickly moved back, but a large chakra hand reached out and uppercut him. And Naruto went after him.

As Yamato tried to sustain the bridge, he finally noticed Hinata's unconscious form. _Did she hit her head when she fell just a second ago? She sure picked a Hell of a time to lose consciousness!_

Sai, on the other side of the bridge, quickly took out a scroll. _This is it! _he thought. _This is where my top-secret mission begins! _He painted a bird, "Ninja Art: Super Beasts Scroll!" And it was in enormous proportions.

Yamato saw as Sai got on his painting. "Sai!" he yelled. "Help Hinata!"

But as the Hyuga began falling down in the gorge, Sai did not do as he was told. He just simply passed her on the way.

"Oh, please…" Yamato prayed as he created another flexible root of wood. It shot out to grab Hinata, and luckily it caught her.

_Boom!_

Another chakra explosion… And this time, it was so far in the forest. Sai could see it all from his view. Orochimaru seemed to have lost an arm. However, two hands came out of his mouth and pulled off his skin. Another Orochimaru? No, he was just recovering from his lost arm and shedding his outer skin.

"You're using the power of the jinchūriki, and that's all you have to show…?" he asked Naruto. "I can see why even your Sakura-chan left you… You still have a ways to go before you catch up with Sasuke-kun…"

And as Orochimaru taunted him, Naruto's fourth tail began to sprout. His skin began to peel until he was only covered in his own blood.

Orochimaru chuckled. _This sensation . . . is quite different from what I've seen so far…_

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

As Hinata woke up, she found herself back on the bridge, Yamato watching over her.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Hinata sat up. "Y-yeah… I'm fine. I'm sorry for the trouble I caused." Her eyes widened when she caught sight of Naruto's evil chakra shooting into the sky.

_I've got a bad feeling about this…_ Yamato thought as he quickly made a clone and sent it off to where Naruto was.

"Wh-what . . . what happened here?" Hinata asked, glancing at the now destroyed bridge.

"It was all Naruto's doing…"

"Where is he?" Hinata asked, worried now.

"On the other side of the bridge," Yamato answer. "Along with Orochimaru."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Sakura couldn't shake her feeling of dread. The way her chakra-filled bracelet was acting didn't help her at all. It only added to her worry, so much worry in fact that she almost forgot where she was. She glanced over at the Uchiha. He hadn't noticed her fret. _Good_, she thought as she took out the card (Hinata had given her). _It'll make this easier…_

"Show me what's happening to Naruto…" But what she (and Kiki saw) wasn't a pretty picture. Sakura could have fainted right there and then, her hand clawed at the floor. "Na . . . Naruto…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

_Naruto's going to be a problem…_ Sai thought, still watching from his bird.

Suddenly, a whole orb of chakra shot up and disintegrated every tree within a ten-mile radius of Naruto.

"Honestly," Orochimaru who was sprawled onto the ground said. "This boy… He simply amuses me to no end."

And as Yamato's clone watched on, he cursed. The fourth tail was now fully completed.

Orochimaru threw up a whole army of snakes then, and they all charged—or rather, slithered as quickly as possible—towards the miniature Kyuubi. Naruto slammed down his hand, and a whole shockwave went through the area, destroying the snakes.

Yamato was almost knocked down. _A shockwave this big with the wave of one hand? This can't be real!_

Naruto slammed himself into the earth and, just when he was to grab the Sanin, Orochimaru quickly jumped out of the way as Naruto's arms shot out of the ground. But his hand continued to snake after the Sanin. And as Orochimaru shot a large snake at Naruto's hand, the snake turned ablaze at first touch. Another Orochimaru came out of the Sanin's mouth and punched Naruto right in the kisser. But Naruto returned the favor and sliced him in half. However, Orochimaru reconnected himself, a smile on his face.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"I can't say that I was expecting to see the fourth tail here…"

"Yamato-taichou…" Hinata said, realizing something. "You know something about Naruto-kun that you're not saying, aren't you? Just what's happening to him?"

"Hinata, there's no need for you to worry," Yamato replied. "It's for this reason in particular that I was chosen for this mission."

"Well, then…"

The two turned around. Kabuto was still _alive_?

"It would seem that Sasori won't be showing up, after all…" the freak said. "His decision to tell you of this bridge was, in all likelihood, made with the intent of having you take care of Orochimaru-sama since he's been a thorn in the side for the Akatsuki. If the Sasori I knew chose to send you here then that means he was impressed by your strength. Sasori harbored much ill-will towards Orochimaru-sama and was always talking of how he intended to finish him with his own hands. If he went back on those words and sent _you_ to do the job then he's already been reduced to a state where he can't do it himself… In other words, he's either been taken captive or he's no longer counted among the living."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Hinata said. "But it's the latter. His grandmother and Sakura made sure of it."

Kabuto smiled. "Well, that's _wonderful_ news."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Orochimaru moved back as he saw Naruto charging up for his next jutsu. _This is getting rather troublesome… _he thought. _Even for me to be hit by such highly concentrated chakra would spend out unavoidable death…_

Yamato's clone looked on with anxious eyes. _So, in search of stability, the chakra that leaked out is attempting a form even closer to the Kyuubi… Then that is _truly_ a miniature form of the demon-fox with Naruto's body acting more like a skeleton… The Kyuubi chakra here is different than what I saw before both in terms of its quantity and character. Most notably, it reeks of malice. How can he still be able to _move_ with that kind of chakra around him? Naruto, just what's happening to you?_

Just then, Naruto fell to the ground, almost paralyzed.

Orochimaru laughed at the sight. _So you ingest that kind of chakra, making it harder for you to move… But how do you plan on fighting then?_

Naruto's body bloated up and then _Boom!_ He shot this . . . this laser out of his mouth.

_So that's how it is?_ But even with that kind of jutsu pitted against him, Orochimaru was _not_ going down without a fight.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"He's become more like the Kyuubi than he was minutes before…" Kabuto said.

Hinata, shocked at these words, didn't know how to respond. "Naruto-kun…"

"You'd be better off calling this a battle between _demons_ rather than ninja."

_Boom!_

"Naruto's been thrown over here…" Yamato said.

And as Orochimaru went in for the kill, Naruto slammed his arm against the bridge—Orochimaru going down with it.

"Not good!" Yamato yelled as he carried Hinata to safer ground.

"Take a look at that…" Kabuto said. "He's willing to become _that_ just to save Sasuke-kun."

Tears came to Hinata's eyes.

"By now, his own senses are leaving him… What a sad boy…"

And with that, Hinata's legs moved of their own accord. She ran . . . towards Naruto.

"No, Hinata!" Yamato yelled after her. "Don't go near him when he's in that state!"

"Naruto-kun!" she yelled. "Enough already! Even Sakura wouldn't want to see you like this! _Please_! I'll rescue Sasuke for you! So . . . so you don't have to—"

But Naruto didn't know friend from foe, and…

✿｡.:***Somewhere far away***:.｡✿

"He attacked Hinata!"

Sakura knew it was bad when she saw the orange color of the gem on her bracelet turn a bloody red but, when she saw the red shooting at a light sky-blue dot and the scene from the card, she jumped from her seat and ran towards the exit. But she forgot one _teensy-weensy _little problem . . . or person, whatever you want to call it.

When Sasuke grabbed her neck and slammed her against the wall, she clearly remembered why she was here in this dark underground hideout and not outside battling alongside Naruto. Now tightly stuck between the Uchiha and the wall and being almost unable to breathe, she stared right into his Sharingan. Kiki, completely infuriated, started barking as loud as possible.

"I thought I made it clear that, if you tried to escape again, I wouldn't be so lenient anymore."

"Let . . ." Sakura tried to pry his hand off of her, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "Let me go… Please… Hinata's . . . she's in danger… _Please_… Naruto . . . he's . . . he's lost it…"

Despite her futile struggling, she saw the Uchiha's eyes narrowed slightly, and there was this darker feeling in them once she mentioned the other member of Team 7. She didn't know if it was because she kept information from him regarding what she knew about where Orochimaru had gone or because it was just plain dislike for the blonde, she just knew that he was just angry that she had tried to escape again. And this time after they had sparred together on her insistence. It must have seemed like it was all part of her plan to leave.

✿｡.:***A Little While Later***:.｡✿

"What you say…" Orochimaru asked, "On what basis should I trust it?"

Sai didn't answer, keeping on an impassive face, and reached back into his backpack.

Kabuto pounced him from behind, tackling him into the ground—a kunai to the boy's head. Everything from Sai's backpack fell out, including his paint set . . . and an envelope.

"What is that?"

"Come on, calm down, Kabuto." Orochimaru chuckled. "From today onward, this kid will become our subordinate."

". . . Can we trust him?"

"Please, look inside the envelope." Sai said to the Sanin. "It's for you from Danzo-sama."

And when Orochimaru peeked inside, he gasped. "This is…!"

"What's inside?" Kabuto asked.

"Kabuto, please. Release that kid," the Sanin ordered. "He's coming with us…"

Kabuto did as he was told, putting away his kunai and getting off of Sai.

"Sai, was it?" Orochimaru asked. "Shall we go then?"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"So . . . what happened to Sai?" Naruto asked, clutching his still hurting stomach. He got a good look of the now destroyed bridge, and his eyes widened.

"Sai . . . he's right now moving with Orochimaru," Yamato explained, having some kind of telepathic talk with his shadow clone who had completely witnessed the Root member's betrayal.

And before Naruto could yell out a loud "WHAT?", Hinata asked, "Wh-what do you mean? What's this all about?"

"Follow me…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Clutching her throbbing arm, Sakura could only glare at her ex-teammate. "Bastard…"

Kiki also did not like her mistress's predicament, and so she continued to bark.

"Was this _really_ necessary?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke just shrugged. "It'll be easier for me if you ever step out of line again…"

"You really _are_ paranoid!" Sakura almost screamed. "How long will it take you to trust me again? It's not like I'd kill you in your sleep or something! I haven't even done anything _remotely_ against you!"

Sasuke didn't say anything, his eyes scrutinizing her. "It seems your memory isn't as good as you think it is."

"_What_…? What are you talking about?"

"You haven't don't anything _remotely_ against me? Fine, then what do you call slapping me, throwing breakable furniture at me, cursing my ancestors, trying to punch the heck out of me," and the list went on and on.

Sakura could swear her face was turning red. "I . . . that . . . well… Damn it, Uchiha! Must you _always_ win at everything?"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Hinata, daijōbu desu ka?"

"Ye-yeah, I'm fine…" Hinata tried to smile. "It's . . . it's nothing to worry about, Naruto-kun…"

But Yamato knew better. _The Kyuubi chakra entering from her wound is like poison… Something like that can't simply be healed by Hinata's level of medical jutsu… For Naruto to endure it…_

"How did you get that injury, Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"Oh . . . th-this?" Hinata glanced at the wound on her arm. "I . . . I was careless. Orochimaru attacked me . . . but it only hurts a little bit… I can barely even feel it…"

"Hinata-chan, you shouldn't be putting yourself in danger like that."

"Let's take a little break here," Yamato said. "Hinata is our only medical nin. She's needed if we are to complete our mission successfully."

"I'm . . . I'm fine!" Hinata argued. "Be . . . besides, we need to hurry! If we don't leave now—"

"It's true that I did say that we should hurry, but there's also the saying, _'rushing only leads to disaster_.' There's a difference between hurrying and rashness, you know." He turned his attention back to the ramen-loving ninja. "Naruto! For the remainder of this mission, I'll be taking Sai's place as your partner. While we have time, let's decide on our attack pattern. Can you come over here for a bit?"

"But—"

"Daijōbu, Hinata-chan!" Naruto flashed her a smile. "It's just some man-to-man talk! There's no need for you to be involved!" And then he followed Yamato.

_Here will do… _the team leader thought, glancing at the distance between them and Hinata.

"So . . . what should we do first?" Naruto asked.

"Right, before that, there's something I need to discuss with you first, Naruto." Yamato said. "The one who hurt Hinata was _you_, Naruto…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"So . . . that bridge, that hollowed-out landscape, and Hinata-chan's wounds… I did all of that?"

"Correct," Yamato answered. "Hinata didn't want to hurt you, so she lied… That Kyuubi strength that you have, I have a special ability that enables me to suppress your jinchūriki power, so you shouldn't worry… However, that is only when I'm close to you. In short, I really didn't have to tell you the truth right now or anything, but the reason why I'm telling you this is that, if you use that strength, you might have a faster chance of saving Sasuke. But relying on the Kyuubi's strength isn't your true strength. Relying on the Kyuubi will not only hurt yourself but others around you, close to you. You should have realized that by now. The reason why you didn't try to stop releasing that power is because you got impatient, right?

"From now on, I'm going to suppress your Kyuubi chakra completely. However, if you think that that will make you weaker then you're greatly mistaken. You're strong enough to not need to rely on that power. Your true strength isn't from the Kyuubi's power, and the reason you're able to stand its chakra is because of the strength of your own chakra. If you want to save Sasuke, use your own power, not the Kyuubi's."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Sakura could hear footsteps in the hallway. It was most likely Orochimaru and Kabuto. But there was a third set of footsteps. Whose were they? Did they capture someone from Naruto's team?

"Kiki…"

The dog immediately knew what Sakura wanted. Kiki quickly ran out of the room, through a small hole.

Sasuke, too, figured out what Sakura was trying to do. If that third person was someone from Konoha then it'd be bad if Sakura was found cooperating with S-ranked criminals. He mentally groaned. How troublesome could she get? But regardless, Sasuke sent his chidori through the floor, shocking his ex-teammate, making her fall to the floor, and paralyzing her.

But before she could retort, Orochimaru came into the room.

"You're _late_…" the Uchiha sneered. "Orochimaru, did you forget about how you were going to teach me a new jutsu this afternoon?"

Sakura would've flinched if it wasn't for the fact that she was sitting on the floor, thanks to the other fact that Sasuke had paralyzed her. Currently, she was trying to send her chakra through her body to stop the numbness. She shifted her eyes to the third man. _Who's he…?_

"You fail to mind your mouth, as always…" Kabuto said, clicking his tongue.

"Oh, do please calm down…" Orochimaru added. "You had your ex-teammate here to entertain yourself with. And instead of training, I happen to have come by a little present for you. He's a shinobi from Konoha, just like you… I figured you could bathe yourself in nostalgia, talking about your old village…"

"Greetings, my name is Sai."

"Get lost," the Uchiha said to the Root member.

"Even when I force myself to smile, it seems I'm the type of person who ends up being hated, and Naruto-kun didn't seem to care much for me the whole time too…"

_So _that's_ Naruto's new teammate…_ Sakura thought, glancing back and forth between the Uchiha and this really pale guy. _He doesn't really look like Sasuke… But . . . why is he even here?_

"But you know, in comparison with him, I think I'll get along with you much better."

And in that small second, the sound of birds chirping could be heard.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura exclaimed, grabbing his arm before he could harm the Root member. (Apparently, the paralysis wore off.)

"How admirable!" Sai said, his smile still plastered on his face. Was he trying to compliment her? "To see lightning and not think life is fleeting[1]… You must hold some kind of position in his heart since you know he won't harm you…"

Sakura stared at the Root member. Did he _want_ a death sentence?

The Uchiha stopped his jutsu then but activated his sharingan. And the moment Sai looked into his eyes, he fell to the floor.

Sai wiped his face. _Sweat…? I'm supposed to feel nothing, have no feelings… Yet by just looking at his eyes, does this mean I fear Sasuke deep within my heart, despite being unable to recognize it myself?_

"It'd be a good idea not to tease Sasuke-kun too much," Orochimaru advised. "You see, he's even harder to deal with than I am."

"I don't care to deal with trash like that," Sasuke said. "Orochimaru, it's time for training _now_…"

"It seems he's been looking for you all this time," Sai said as he stood up. "For the last three years…"

Sasuke said nothing, though Sakura was a bit saddened by that, knowing fully well who Sai was speaking of.

"Naruto-kun considers you almost like his own brother," Sai continued. "That's what Hinata-san told me."

"I only have one brother," Sasuke said. "He's the one I want to kill…"

Sai said no more after that.

"Anyhow, I'll be leaving now…" Orochimaru said as he handed Kabuto the envelope from before. "Use these to compile a Bingo Book for our ninja."

And when Kabuto opened the envelope and took out the papers, his eyes widened. "These are copies of the profiles of the Hokage's personal troop division…! And they would seem to be the real thing…"

At these words, it was Sakura's turn for her eyes to widen. She glared at Sai. _Just who is he?_

Sai smiled at her. "So you must be Tsunade's student… Danzo told me I might meet up with you…"

Sakura didn't say anything, her ears catching onto the name of Sai's superior.

"He told me to kill you if I get the chance."

She scoffed. "How _nice_ of him…" Her hand rolled into a fist. "Tsunade also told me that Danzo would be restless… I wonder how he'd take it if Konoha finds you pummeled to a pulp…"

"Hey, now…" Kabuto said, trying to stop a fight. "I know you two aren't from the same political party—"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Gee, what ever could have given you _that_ idea?"

"—but I don't want you two to start an unnecessary fight." Kabuto continued, ignoring Sakura's comment. "Sakura, you may be our honored guest here but, if you do anything to—"

"Enough," Sasuke said. "Sakura."

She knew what he meant. "_Aw_… And I thought you'd leave me here… So much for trying to escape again…" the kunoichi sighed, but really she was grateful she was getting out of that room. She didn't want to be surrounded by too many criminals nor did she like it.

And as she passed Sai, she smiled at him. "I owe you a punch for insulting Hinata-chan and, for betraying Naruto, you owe me a death…"

"I'm looking forward to it," Sai replied, a smile still painted on his face. "You're Tsunade's student, and Hinata said you defeated Sasori of the Akatsuki. I want to see for myself just how strong you really are."

Sasuke's ears caught on to the conversation. Akatsuki? Since when did Sakura ever take _them_ on? His eyes shifted towards the girl as they left the room, following Orochimaru. She seemed to have been in deep thought once again, her eyes distant but her left hand still caressing her right arm.

The Uchiha mentally sighed. He didn't know why he placed that jutsu on her… It just happened. But there was no use thinking about it now. He just knew that he didn't want Orochimaru to find out.

"Sakura, go get some rest."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Here, huh?"

"Yep," Yamato answered. "The entrance is right below that rock formation in front of us."

"Okay, let's go then." Naruto said.

"Hold on," Yamato held out a hand to stop him. And he took out two pills. "You can go _after_ you've swallowed this, Naruto. And here, one for you too, Hinata. Even if we end up getting separated, with those inside you, I'll be able to locate you immediately."

"What _are_ these?" Hinata asked, looking the pill over.

"To put things simply, those seeds are tracking devices. They're a tool of mine that respond only to my chakra. Those are just the same as the ones that I planted in Sai's clothes and food."

"I see…" Hinata said, still looking at the seed in her hand. "So . . . this is how you were able to track him."

"When did you manage to—"

"Don't you remember?" Yamato asked Naruto. "How I went back to the room before you three at the hot springs? Now you two should understand why I went out of my way, using my own money, to treat everyone to such a lavish stay at the hot springs. Everything was just like Tsunade-sama said. Taking precautions with Sai has sure paid off in the end."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Here we are," Kabuto said, opening a door. "Come inside." He lit a candle. "This shall be your room. When we don't have anything for you to do, we expect you to quietly behave yourself in here." He moved to leave the room. "If something comes up, we'll call for you."

As Sai looked around his small and dull quarters, he asked, "Did the news of her betrayal not spread yet? How come I did not hear of it?"

"_Her_?" Kabuto asked, stopping in his tracks. "_Oh_! You mean the Haruno girl… She's here but not by her own will, if that's what you're asking."

"You've captured her?" Sai raised an eyebrow.

"Captured, invited, welcomed… Call it whatever you want. Orochimaru just keeps her here as an honored guest. I suppose he thinks Sasuke-kun needs the entertainment. I don't understand it myself. If it were up to me, she'd be dead by now. But Sasuke wants to keep her alive, so no one touches her. She's very troublesome actually, trying to escape every now and then…" Kabuto shrugged, walking out of the room. "Sorry to have to do this, but I'm going to have to lock this door from the outside. After all, you're… Well, you understand."

Sai had no protests as Kabuto shut the door. When he knew the door was locked, Sai pressed his ear against the wooden structure. Kabuto's footsteps were getting further and further away…

Sai backed away from the door and took out a small book from his backpack. He flipped through the pages, reading the information on them.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

The door creaked open, and Sai quickly stuffed the book back into his bag.

"And look who we have here…"

And in came Yamato, Naruto, and Hinata.

Sai smiled. "The Hokage-controlled ANBU, impressive as always…"

"Why don't you tell us about what's going on here?" Yamato suggested, but Naruto had other plans.

"_You_!" he yelled, grabbing the collar of Sai's shirt. "Why did you betray us?"

"You shouldn't make too much noise here," Sai said. "It'll mean trouble."

"Why, you—"

"Na-Naruto-kun!"

Naruto held his glare for a few more seconds before releasing the Root member.

"Here," Hinata said to Sai. She held his picture book in her hand. "We found this. I believe this belongs to you."

"Thank you," Sai gladly took back his novelette.

"You're . . . you're here under Danzo's orders, right?" Hinata asked. "Danzo's planning something through working with Orochimaru . . . and you were chosen as the go-between. What is it that he's planning?"

Sai didn't answer.

"He's plotting the destruction of Konoha, right? Another war with Oto?"

". . . No, actually—"

"We all already know of your fake smiles!" Naruto yelled. "And the same goes for the lies you force them through!"

"My mission ended in failure the moment you found me," Sai explained. "And I can't very well take the three of you on by myself, so . . . since you already know so much, there isn't much reason to hide things anymore. Just as you say, we're going to destroy Konoha as it exists."

"Why, _you_…" Naruto's hands rolled into fists.

"We wanted to weaken Tsunade's political power, so we sent her apprentice away. She should be dead by now."

Naruto's fists shook.

"But in order to completely destroy Konoha, I was to gain Orochimaru's favor thus giving us a chance for us to ally with him. That was my true mission."

"Keep talking," Yamato commanded, pointing a kunai at Sai. "Tell us everything you know."

"_You_… Do you even _realize_ what you're saying?" Naruto asked. "What it means—"

"That wasn't all," Sai continued. "I was also supposed to secretly transmit information on Orochimaru to Danzo-sama. In other words, I was also assigned a mission of espionage."

"So the mission was to ally with the enemy, then use and outwit him in the end… And that enemy is Orochimaru?" Hinata asked. "It's a dangerous mission…"

"Once Konoha falls, Orochimaru is guaranteed to betray us in the end. My mission was intended to allow us to always stay one step ahead of him."

"Danzo wants to make Konoha his own, obviously." Yamato said. "And you, on your own, were assigned a mission to make that possible."

"I was singled out due to the special abilities I have," Sai explained. "The ink I write with becomes small, living animals. They protect themselves from harm as they carry information out to their destination."

"If Konoha becomes a stage of battle again, countless of people . . . so many of them will die!" Hinata said. "What you're trying to do is going to have very real consequences! Do you . . . do you even understand that?"

Sai just shrugged. "I just follow my orders."

"Sai . . . you're—"

"Just to let you know, _'Sai'_ is just a name that was assigned to me merely for the purpose of this mission. In reality, I'm nobody. I am nothing more than a tool for Danzo-sama. I don't really exist. As such, whatever you say to me, it means nothing."

"In that case," Hinata said, "Tell me why you care so much about that picture book you carry around with you!"

Sai had no answer. He hadn't expected that question. He looked down at the book he held in his hand.

"The two children on the covers, that's you and your brother, right?" Hinata asked. "You carry that around because that's the only thing left that proves you really do exist, am I correct? You didn't manage to get rid of your emotions despite what you say. Even for us shinobi, abandoning our emotions completely is impossible."

". . . Please explain," Sai said. "Why would carrying this book serve to prove my existence?"

"The reason why you refuse to let go of that book is precisely because you find yourself unable to forget your existence as someone's brother. Do you understand _why_?"

Hinata took Sai's silence as a no.

"It's because your bonds with your brother are very important to you."

Sai's eyes widened.

"The reality is that you don't want to erase the bonds between you and your brother."

"Bonds…"

"Sorry to say, but we took a little peak at the contents of that book." Yamato said. "The picture on the two pages in the center is the only part of the book unfinished. Judging from the rest of the book, you and your brother would have ended up fighting on those center pages. Sai, I know that you are a part of ANBU's Root, and I know that Danzo has given you special training to relive you of your emotions—training identical to that of the godforsaken tradition that was once practiced in Kiri, the village of bloody mist. Sai, your brother was killed by none other than y—"

"You're _wrong_!" Sai said. "I had intended to give this as a gift to my brother but, just when I was about to complete it, my brother . . . he died of illness." And he said this with a smile. "We weren't connected by blood, but he complimented me quite a bit on my drawings. Root was filled with a great number of children who had been separated from their families due to battles, and I had gotten close with one of those children, calling him my brother. This picture book… The picture I wanted to show my brother the most, the one in the center… I . . . after my brother died, I couldn't seem to recall what I wanted to draw."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Once Kabuto unlocked the door, he walked in. Nobody was there, and he knew something was up.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Unfortunately," Yamato said to the now tied-up Sai. They were just outside Orochimaru's hideout. "We're going to have to leave you here with my clone to watch you."

"_Hmp_!" Naruto cracked his knuckles. "Now to get back to what we came here for. It's time to rescue Sasuke!"

Sai just stared at Naruto and then looked down. "It'd be better if you gave up now," he said.

"I met Sasuke-kun," he continued, shocking the blonde. "Orochimaru is _always_ with him. If you continue to go after him, the best you'll manage is being torn to shreds and turned into guinea pigs. Besides, Hinata-san said that you care for Sasuke-kun as though he were your own brother, but he said he doesn't care about you anymore… And despite that, do you really intend to go up against Orochimaru of all people, just for _him_? You're going to put your life on the line just to get him back? Why? It's not like you've been ordered to do this."

Naruto smiled. "Way back when, I used to hate him but, when I got used to being with him, I realized he's really a lot of fun to be around. He's the person that, more than anyone else, accepted me and my existence. Sasuke is my friend, and he represents bonds that I waited so long to receive, so that's why…"

_Bonds…_

"Plus, I made a promise to Sakura-chan! I'll make sure he's back in Konoha, waiting for her just like everyone else!"

". . . Are you sure this Sakura-chan is trustworthy?" Sai asked. "How would you know? She's just another person. Who's to say that she'd—"

"Of all people, she's the _last_ person who'd betray me! I trust her as much as I trust Hinata-chan here!"

_Na-Naruto-kun… _Hinata almost blushed.

"Still, all for a promise…" Sai continued. "That's not much of a reason especially if it means going up with people like Orochimaru…"

"I don't care who I have to fight. If he rips my arms off, I'll kick him to death! If he rips my legs off, I'll bite him to death! If he rips my head off, I'll stare him to death and, if he gouges my eyes, I'll curse him to death! Even if I'm torn to shreds, I'll find a way to take Sasuke back, no matter what!"

* * *

**[1] = a haiku by Basho**

**Yay! Chapter is finished! Sorry, that it was more about Naruto in this chapter, but I promise the next one will have more SasuSaku in it! I just had to make sure you guys understand the chapter and what happened! Thank you and please review!**

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**_POLLS_!**

**Okay, I'll need you guys' help since I skipped the last half of it in _Mirrorcle World._**

**Since Naruto's going to meet up with Sasuke soon, I'm going to need some ideas of how that should go. With Hinata there and Sakura's role completely turned around, there's bound to be a _huge_ difference. So what do you think I should do for it? Write down any suggestions in your reviews.**


	10. Episode 10

-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, the Elders send Sakura off as a hunter-nin, wishing for her death as a way to weaken Tsunade's political powers. Sakura agrees to prove them wrong, but what she didn't know was that Orochimaru's involved! Oh, god… Just what did she get herself into?

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**Finally! A new chapter! Sorry it's really late again, but I was a bit busy trying to think of a plot for _Mirrorcle World_. And speaking about that, this chapter corresponds to _Mirrorcle World_'s Episode Nine. But don't let that fool ya! This chapter is from a view point on Sakura and Sasuke, unlike that one which is more focused on Hinata and Naruto! And if you read _Mirrorcle World_, read the fight. It's a from Sakura's view of things, so it's slightly different. Thank you and please enjoy!**

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Episode Ten

~Sai's True Mission, Sasuke's Power ~

"We're going as soon as my clone's ready." Yamato said.

Hinata and Naruto were in agreement. However, the Hyuga heiress didn't really think it was right to leave Sai there just like that. What if he was attacked? Sure, he was a jerk, but she didn't think Naruto would live with it if Sai were killed because of their decision.

The team suddenly jumped out of the way of a kunai shower. Kabuto appeared.

"Sai," he said, "Judging from your situation, I suppose this means you were captured. Since it doesn't seem like you've betrayed us, I'll trust you . . . for now." And he cut Sai's ropes.

"If you two are going to stand in my way then I'm not going to hold back!" Naruto said.

Kabuto started laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Watching you truly makes me feel pity!" the medic said. "People change. Sasuke is no longer the Sasuke you knew."

And then, the unexpected happened. Sai got behind Kabuto and put a kunai to the medic's neck.

"What the? What are you doing?"

"You say people change, and here I am."

"_What_?"

"But there are also things that don't change."

"Sai…" Naruto was completely shocked. "What are—"

"Bonds… I want to see what they're really made of." the Root member said.

"Sai! Just keep him like that!" Yamato said as he made hand signs. A block of wood shot out from the ground and wrapped itself around the Oto-nin.

"Sai, why did you—"

"Why is it that you place so much value in the bonds between you and Sasuke-kun?" Sai asked Naruto. "What exactly are those bonds you speak of? I decided that I needed to know the answer. According to the two of you, I've been unable to get rid of the bonds that formed between me and my brother. If those bonds are so important to me then I might be able to figure something out if I see the _'bonds'_ between you and Sasuke-kun. That's all…"

Kabuto started laughing then. "The four of you don't know the real Sasuke-kun…"

"What are you laughing about _now_?" Naruto asked.

"Tell us where Sasuke is," Yamato said.

"He should be done with his training about now back in his inner chamber. There is a large number of rooms strewn all throughout the lair. If you end up looking in each as you go, you might find him. Still, if you aren't careful, you might chance upon a snake as well. Orochimaru-sama keeps his quarters in the same area, after all."

"I thank you for being so honest," Hinata said.

"Oh, no, you really shouldn't be thanking me."

"You expect us, the hunters, to become the prey then?" Yamato asked.

"Precisely. After all, fights aren't decided until the very end."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Sakura kept pacing around. Her arms crossed, she bit the bottom of her lip. She was worried—no, that didn't even describe _half_ of it. Her heart felt as though it would jump out of her chest. It was pounding so fast—she thought it would just stop working. If Sai was there then Naruto and Hinata would be coming shortly, and there was just that very _slight_ chance that they'd find her too. That was the least of her problems. If they were to misunderstand her motives for even being in that place then… She shook her head. She was too afraid to even _think_ of their reactions.

She could always escape… After all, Sasuke had left her in that room alone to go who knows where. He would be busy with his training, and if Naruto and Hinata's presences were to make a big enough fuss then she would be home free. And so, in the end, she decided on another escape attempt. She was about to turn the door knob when it turned by itself.

She almost gasped. She quickly pressed herself against the wall, hoping to conceal her presence. The door opened, almost hitting her in the process. She held her breath.

"Nope, not in here."

"That's it for this floor. Let's try the next floor."

And the door shut.

That had been way too close for comfort. Knowing that, Sakura fell to her knees. But something didn't really sit well with her. Was that Naruto? Working with _Sai_?

_So . . . he didn't betray them, after all…_ She was glad, but now her worry increased tenfold. Naruto and Hinata were _here_! And if she were to escape _now_, she'd be spotted for sure. And not only would she be spotted, but her cover of going to visit her relatives would have been exposed.

Oh, god! What was she to do now?

Taking a cloak from a nearby rack, she glanced down at the mark on her arm. Escaping would only hold a physical meaning. Mentally, she knew she would never be able to escape Sasuke's grasp on her now.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Oh, jeez… You two are so alike…" Sai said. Naruto and he were taking a break since they had run non-stop, searching all the rooms on that floor. "You and my brother… I mean, he was loud and impatient, unrefined…" He took out the picture book from his backpack. "But still, just like you, he took on anything he did with everything he had. Watching you somehow brings back memories of—"

He stopped, talking then. He took out a pencil and opened the book to its unfinished pages, drawing as fast as he could.

"Sai, what—"

"I remembered," the Root member said, "I remembered what I wanted to draw…"

The finished picture showed the two brothers smiling and holding hands.

"I wanted to show my brother this… This picture of our dream…"

"Well, then, Sai…" Orochimaru was suddenly there. "Which side do you intend to take?" He attacked, but Naruto and Sai jumped back. "Looks like you choose to side with them, Sai . . . or whoever you are."

"I'll deal with things here," Naruto said. "Sai, you go look for Sasuke!"

But Sai didn't move.

"_NOW_!"

"Ok… I'll find and rescue Sasuke-kun…" And he took off.

"So . . . you've come to take Sasuke-kun back, have you? I must admit, you do have conviction, but do you truly think things will turn out so well?" Orochimaru asked.

"Yeah, I do!" Naruto yelled, making a hand sign. "First, I'll defeat you! Then, I'll take Sasuke back!"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Sai came to a stop. There were two hallways. Which one should he take? In the end, he decided to use his ninjutsu. He took out a scroll and started painting a few dozen of mice. They came to life and started the search.

He heard footsteps and quickly turned around, kunai in his hand.

"_You_…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Oh, my… What happened to all that spunk you had a moment ago?"

Naruto was now feeling the stress of having used the Kyuubi's chakra before. It was hard for him to move too quickly.

"Naruto-kun!"

Hinata and Yamato came then.

"So it's Orochimaru again…"

At the sight of Naruto's backup, the Sanin was now bored. "Naruto-kun, I'll let you live for the time being. Just try and make sure you kill at least another Akatsuki member for me. But more importantly, I have business to take care of with Sai, so if you'll excuse me…" And he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Hinata let out a sigh of relief. Of course, she had been worried. If this battle had turned out to be just like the last one, she wouldn't know what to do…

"Where's Sai?" Yamato asked.

"He went to look for Sasuke," Naruto said. "We need to do something before Orochimaru finds him!"

"Hey… What's this?" Hinata asked, picking up a book from the floor.

"Was that from Sai's bag?" Yamato asked.

"I believe so…" the Hyuga answered, looking through it. Her eyes widened at the contents.

"What is it, Hinata-chan?"

"Naruto-kun… This . . . this is a Bingo Book… And Sasuke-kun's picture is in here…"

"_What_?"

"So it all makes sense now…" Yamato said.

"What makes sense?" Naruto asked.

"Sai's mission . . . it wasn't to be the go-between for Orochimaru and Danzo at all. His top secret mission is the assassination of Uchiha Sasuke."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"I don't understand you _at all_…" Sakura said, glaring at the boy in front of her. She took off the hood of her cloak. "First, you're recruited by Danzo to be Naruto's new teammate. Then, you stage a betrayal… And now what are you doing? Are you just leading Naruto and them on or something? Are you trying to get them _killed_?"

"I don't need to answer to you," Sai replied. "Your arm is injured, is it not?" he asked, seeing her massaging her right arm.

Sakura didn't say anything, glancing down at her arm.

Sai couldn't figure out what her expression held. Was that the look of disgust she had on?

"Why are you up? Is this another one of your escape attempts?" he asked her, dropping the subject.

". . . Yes."

"You're unsure."

"_What_?" Sakura almost scoffed. Who was he to tell her what she really felt?

"If you really were trying to escape, you'd be doing everything in your power to accomplish that. And doing everything in your power would mean getting Naruto-kun's help, does it not?"

Sakura could have almost laughed. Of course, she knew that. Getting Naruto's help would definitely be to her advantage. However, there was just one problem. ". . . He doesn't know I'm Konoha's hunter-nin."

". . . Ah… I guess that _does_ pose as quite the problem, but lingering around is not going to do you any good."

"I'm not stupid. I know that . . . but Naruto's . . . he's reckless. I want to make sure he's okay before I decide anything." And then she turned to leave.

"I thought I owed you a death…"

The kunoichi stopped in her tracks. Really, this boy was something else. ". . . You didn't betray Naruto completely… But if you continue to work under Danzo's influence and wind up hurting either him or Hinata,"—she turned back to glare at him—"I won't let you go next time…"

And with that, she turned the corner, putting her hood back on.

Sai went back to finding the Uchiha. He concentrated and waited. It was only a matter of time before… _Found you!_

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Who's there?"

"Caught me red-handed," Sai said from the door. "Still, I've acquired the upper hand here."

"What is it you want?"

"I intend to bring you back to Konoha!" the ANBU Roots member said. "Although I did originally come here to kill you, I want to see if I can protect those bonds between you and him that he holds so strongly…"

"_Bonds_…? You woke me up to talk about bonds…?" The anger in the Uchiha's voice was evident.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

As the team kept searching the hallways, they heard a loud explosion.

"What was that?"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Sakura, too, had heard it. _Damn it… He can be so cranky when he wakes up… Looks like he blew up his room this time… _She sighed, resisting the urge to shake her head. _Guess I better go back before he turns that anger on me… Damn that stupid Uchiha and his wonderful way of expression things…_

And in actuality, she knew that, if her Inner were still around, she'd be yelling at her, saying that this was the perfect time for her to escape and that she was only looking for an excuse to watch the fight she knew would occur.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Sakura arrived shortly at the scene, but she hid in the shadows of the doorway, continuing to hide her presence from her friends. Right now, Naruto had run out into the clearing with some man (whom she presumed to be the Yamato she had heard so much about) walking behind him.

"Naruto, so you came too?" she heard Sasuke ask. "Then should I be expecting Kakashi?"

"Sorry to disappoint you," Yamato said. "But Kakashi couldn't be here unfortunately, but I'm here in his place. We, Team Kakashi, are going to be taking you back to Konoha."

"Team Kakashi, huh? If I remember correctly, _Sakura_ was the kunoichi on the team, not the Hyuga. Whatever happened to her? Died already? She was always weak…"

Sakura wanted to punch Sasuke at that point, but she held back, not wanting to expose herself. She ignored the little voice in her head that told her Sasuke said those things to actually _help_ her situation.

She saw Naruto clenched his fists. "You have no idea what you're talking about… She's out on leave…"

Sakura's eyes fell to the floor. She felt so guilty about lying to him. She glanced up at her ex-teammate. Was he feeling the same about this? In fact, did he feel anything at all about this?

_So he's not going to risk exposing her… Perhaps there's something going on._ Sai thought, also watching the Uchiha carefully. He unsheathed the short sword on his back.

"Sai!" Hinata exclaimed.

Sakura's eyes widened then, her heart falling. She couldn't deny that she was worried about the Uchiha, but she didn't want a fight to occur. She just didn't want to see Naruto fight Sasuke again, her thoughts going back to that fateful battle on the hospital rooftop.

"So he's my replacement then, is he?" Sasuke asked. "He was spouting some kind of nonsense between Naruto and me. One more pansy for the group, quite the fit I'm sure."

"It's true that my top-secret mission was to assassinate Uchiha Sasuke," Sai told the team.

That fact made Sakura regret her decision of letting the boy live. _I should've taken care of him when I had the chance…_

"But those orders don't matter anymore."

Her eyes widened at Sai's words. Just exactly where was this speech going towards?

"Now I want to think and act for myself. Because of Naruto-kun, I feel like I might be able to remember something… Remember how I used to feel before… Something which I can't help but feel was very important to me before…" He pointed the sword at the Uchiha, something that angered Sakura more than she'd have liked. "I may not know you all that well, but I know there's a reason why Naruto-kun chases after you with so much passion. In order to prevent his bonds with you from being broken, in order to keep them intact, he's doing everything he can."

Sakura glanced at the blonde, her eyes almost watering. Knowing his hardships, she just couldn't bare the fact that it was the promise he had made to _her_ that was also fueling his cause.

"I still don't have a good understanding of it myself but you, Sasuke-kun, should have a good understanding of it yourself." Sai said, his vocalizations finally ending.

"Sure, I did," Sasuke said after a short while. He really didn't like this guy. How in the world did this _weirdo_ end up as _his_ replacement? "And that's why I severed them. I have other bonds to carry now. Fraternal bonds, forged through hatred… Having too many bonds causes one to lose focus, weakening their strongest wish, their greatest desire…"

"That's true…" Naruto said after much consideration. "But if that's true then why didn't you kill me back then when we fought? Is that what you call _'severing bonds'_, Sasuke?"

"The reason is simple, and it wasn't that I wasn't able to severe my bond with you. I simply didn't want to give him the pleasure of seeing me attain power by submitting to his plans."

"What do you mean by that?" Naruto asked the same question that went through Sakura's head.

"There's no need for me to tell you… Still, the one thing I can say to you is that, back then, I spared you on nothing more than a whim of mine." And in a split second, the Uchiha was standing with the group, right in front of Naruto with his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

_He's fast… _Sakura thought the same as Yamato. _When did he…?_

"Come to think of it, isn't becoming Hokage a dream of yours?" she heard the Uchiha ask his ex-teammate. "If you had the time to be looking for me, you would have been better off training. Don't you think, Naruto? And that's why, this time, you're going to lose your life, all at a whim of mine."

As he unsheathed his sword, Sakura tried her hardest to supress the urge to rush out to stop him.

"Like there's any chance that someone who couldn't even save his best friend would become Hokage, right, Sasuke?"

The scene that played out happened in only a few seconds, but Sakura couldn't help but feel useless if she had been placed in Hinata's position.

As Sasuke brought his sword close to Naruto's neck, Sai jumped in the way, grabbing Sasuke's arm. Naruto quickly flipped so that he was behind the Uchiha. And using this distraction, Yamato quickly made his hand signs. But Sasuke was a step in front of them. Without making any hand signs, he used a jutsu, his Chidori Nagashi, and lightning shot out of his body. Even Yamato was shocked into a frozen stance when he saw Sai and Naruto being deflected to the ground.

The Haruno couldn't believe how fast the three were dispatched. It was only now that she realized the full extent of her ex-teammate's power. Her worry increased, not for Naruto this time but for Hinata who charged at Sasuke with her Gentle Step.

Though the Hyuga had Sasuke dodging for a while, it only meant that he had more time to send his chakra through his sword. Hinata saw this with her Byakugan but, when she realized what he was doing, she had no time to dodge. And when he was about to stab her through the heart, Yamato stood in the way, protecting the Hyuga heiress.

"Yamato-taichou!"

The Uchiha smirked. "Your choice of defense, quite the mistake… You see, the Kusangi I hold here is a little special. It's the kind that can't be blocked."

_He sent his Chidori through his sword, _Sakura observed. _By doing so, not only does it make the sword extremely sharp, he also deprives his opponent from freedom of movement through numbness…_ She glanced at the Uchiha again. _Sasuke-kun…_

"Enough, Sasuke."

She stepped out into the battlefield, not wanting this to drag on any longer and hoping that she could stop the fight. Seeing Sasuke almost stab Hinata gave her all the confirmation she needed to know that the Uchiha would kill if he had to.

She refused to meet the gaze of any of the Konoha shinobi, keeping her gaze focused on her ex-teammate. She didn't know if the silence was a good or bad thing. She could only hope that Naruto and Hinata couldn't see past her veil.

She stopped right in front of the Uchiha. It was a reckless decision. She had seen Oto nin getting cut down for doing less than what she was doing while Sasuke was bent on a target. She sincerely hoped that she was the exception.

Meanwhile, Sai watched on with anticipation. If his observation from been right from the first time he seen these two together then perhaps she could tip the balance towards their favor.

Sasuke's blazing eyes shifted towards her. "You were to stay _in_ your room." The pretense of civility had disappeared. His voice was flat and icy.

Sakura was not fazed even in the least, wondering if he was afraid she'd use this as her chance to escape or afraid that she'd be found out by Naruto. But she pushed back those thoughts, making a note to herself to ask him later.

"Can't you behave yourself?" she said, teasing him. Her hand extended out of the safety of her cloak—that strange marking decorated her arm.

_So that's why she kept caressing her arm before…_ Sai thought. _Just what is that strange mark?_

She rested her hand on top of Sasuke's, on the hand that held his katana. She glanced over at the Hyuga then back to the Uchiha. "There _are_ ladies present," she added, hoping that he wouldn't misinterpret her reasoning.

Having absolutely no idea who she was, Team Yamato (except for Sai) watched on in astonishment. How was she—a hidden, undersized (compared to Sasuke), and possibly fragile girl—able to cause a moment's hesitation in the Uchiha? And if it was because of a whim then screw the f***ing Uchiha. (A/N: Sorry, I only curse in my character quotes, not in the narration of my stories.)

"Heh, you have an ulterior motive," were his words before he stabbed his sword deeper into Yamato. He watched her for the slightest of facial changes.

"I only came to check out the explosion," she said, her face staying impassive, but her nails dug into his hand, and that only added to his suspicions. "Thought you blew yourself up. Now, I'm wishing you _did_."

He almost smirked. "Then explain why you're getting so worked up."

"Because . . ." she said, her grip loosening. "You don't trust me." And it was semi-true. She couldn't believe that, after spending almost a month with her, he still couldn't believe her completely.

However, it was at that moment when she felt that same burning sensation on her left wrist—of which, may I add, that she keeping hidden from Hinata's view as she would be able to recognize the bracelet she wore—from earlier that day. She quickly glanced over at Naruto, her worry confirmed.

Hinata followed the girl's gaze, her own eyes widening. "Naruto-kun!" She ran to his side. _This isn't good… Should I block his chakra points before the Kyuubi's chakra spreads? If I do that then he'll be totally defenseless against Sasuke…_

And in his head, the ramen-loving ninja was arguing with the Kyuubi.

_**This is your chance, Naruto…**_ the fox said. _**Show him… Make him see how our powers are not to be trifled with…**_

But Naruto didn't say anything back.

_**What's wrong? Why the hesitation? **_the Kyuubi asked, forming outside of his prison. _**You need my power, right? Well then, who do you want to kill?**_

"Your face! I don't want to see it anymore!" Naruto yelled.

_**Why is it that you grow fearful?**_

"Shut up! I don't need your power anymore!"

But the Kyuubi laughed. _**Oh, really? Then remind me… Who was it that came here, shouting, "Lend me your power," every time something came up? You should know that you can't do a damn thing without me! Remove this seal once and for all! If you do then I'll entrust all of my power to you…**_

"Get lost!"

But it was then that a shocking (A/N: and I use that word loosely) visitor came into Naruto's mind.

_**Ah, so you're an Uchiha… Congratulations on making it this far…**_

"Why are you here?" Naruto asked.

"I'm able to see it now…" the Uchiha said. "So this was your secret power then… It's hard to believe that something like this existed inside of you." And then…

_Pop!_

The Kyuubi was gone.

_**Unbelievable… To think you'd be able to suppress my power… I may not see you again, but . . . I warn you… Don't kill Naruto… You'll end up regretting it…**_

And now, back to outside of Naruto's mind, Sakura and Hinata just stared in awe as Naruto returned back to normal.

_The Kyuubi's chakra… _Hinata glanced back at the Uchiha. _Just what did he do?_

Sakura also stared at Sasuke. If her veil didn't cover her face, Hinata would've seen the confusion written across her face.

It was then that Yamato decided to get the sword out of his chest. A wooden block pushed the sword out, surprising both Sasuke and Sakura. And suddenly, a large wooden structure enclosed on them.

"See the trouble you get me into?" Sasuke asked of the girl.

Sakura had no chance to retort as he broke out of the enclosure, his arm wrapped around her petite waist. They landed on higher ground. She, looking down, began to realize her slight fear of heights was returning. Seeing that, Sasuke almost rolled his eyes.

"Why don't you get it?" Naruto yelled. "Your body's going to be stolen by Orochimaru anytime now!"

"If that happens then it happens…"

His answer shocked everyone there, Sakura the most. However, she continued to play the role of one of Orochimaru's followers and pretended as if she didn't care. After all, she shouldn't after all Sasuke did to Naruto… Plus, this battle had clearly shown that Sasuke would gladly kill them if given the chance… She wanted to scream out to Naruto to let go of his promise that he made her… But she was too worried, too scared, about his reaction to finding out that it was her under that cloak.

"You're still quite the kid, Naruto." Sasuke continued. "Revenge means everything to me. As long as I can have my revenge, I could care less what happens to me or the whole world, for that matter. Let me make it clear for you: for both me and Orochimaru right now, killing Itachi is impossible. But if I am able to accomplish that goal through nothing more than offering Orochimaru this body of mine then he can have my life and my afterlife."

This was when Naruto would've gone Kyuubi. _How could he even think like that? Just how could he be so consumed by his hatred?_

"Konoha, indeed… I'm through with you."

Hinata, unlike everyone else, however, had been watching Sakura carefully as the Uchiha spoke. _Just who exactly is she? A friend? No, if Sasuke had severed his bonds then he wouldn't be making new ones…_ She tried to stare past the hood's veil as Sakura fist clenched at the words that were just said.

Hinata almost gasped at her breakthrough. Did her eyes deceive her? Were those _Sakura's_ emerald green eyes she saw?

Without thinking, the words just came out of her mouth. "Sakura-san?"

Sakura's heart almost stopped when she heard Hinata's words. Apparently, she had not counted on the fact that Hinata's eyes would be so sharp as to make out her physical features. (A/N: Let's just say the cloak is protected by chakra so that Hinata's Byakugan couldn't see past it either.) But now what? What could she do?

Sakura could feel her body tremble. She glanced over at Naruto who seemed as though he had a sword stabbed through him. _Don't look at me with those eyes… Please…_

"It would appear you're not as good an actress as you think…" Sasuke's words knocked her back into reality.

"Shut up! I don't . . ." She glanced at the Hyuga. "I don't know what she's talking about!" she lied, trying to keep her cover. "I've never seen them in my life before!"

"Suit yourself…" And the Uchiha started making hand signs. "This ends here…"

"NO! SASUKE-KUN!"

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**Done with this chapter! So . . . yeah… Thank you and please review!**

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**POLLS!**

**Okay, we all know that Naruto doesn't meet up with Sasuke again after this, but SPOILER ALERT: I'm changing that. All I need is a mission for Naruto to go on. So as readers, I'm giving you all the chance to voice out any of your opinions. What mission should Naruto go on that places him in the same vicinity as Sasuke?**

**Also, how should I end this battle? I posted this poll on _Mirrorcle World_, but no one had any idea of what I should do. So . . . I time-skipped a bit. Now, I want to fix that. So . . . how should this battle end?**


	11. Episode 11

-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, the Elders send Sakura off as a hunter-nin, wishing for her death as a way to weaken Tsunade's political powers. Sakura agrees to prove them wrong, but what she didn't know was that Orochimaru's involved! Oh, god… Just what did she get herself into?

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**Yippie! A new chapter! Okay, so it's a bit rushed… But I _really_ wanted to get this out of the way because I was getting nowhere with _Mirrorcle World_ since I needed this part to be finished so that I could start thinking about how I should go along with this plot of mine. (Can you believe I never thought past the last chapter?) And so yeah… Here's the chapter that corresponds with _Mirrorcle World_'s Episode Ten!**

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Episode Eleven

~ Her State of Anger and Hinata's Advice~

Everything happened so quickly, almost within a blink of the eye. Before Sasuke could finish his hand signs for an undoubtedly powerful jutsu, Yamato again used his Wood Style. This time, he aimed for where the Uchiha stood. And right afterwards, Sai drew up a large hawk. Seeing it fly towards her ex-teammate, Sakura's instincts immediately took over. She didn't even give it any thought as she fused her chakra into a kunai and threw it at the painting. The kunai caused a flux in Sai's jutsu and, as the ANBU Root member tried to keep everything under control, Sakura saw this as an opening and readied her fist. When Sai's bird came close enough, she punched it, sending Sai along with it down into the crater Sasuke had created. However, she hadn't planned out her attack that far when she realized she had jumped into midair when on the offense. But before she could even fall a slight amount, she felt a hard tug on her arm, and suddenly she was thrown back onto the precipice. And when she looked up to glare at the Uchiha, her eyes could only widen when she saw Orochimaru and Kabuto there.

The Sannin chuckled. "I think that's enough fun for now."

"NO! WAIT! DON'T YOU DARE! _SASUKE_!"

Naruto's desperate pleads grew quieter and quieter as Sakura saw a whirlwind of color and heard a whirlwind of sound. It was a transportation jutsu, she realized. And in a second, all of her thoughts were focused on trying to stop her tears from coming out and trying to force herself not to run away from her ex-teammate to the teammate she had left behind in Konoha. It took all of her willpower just to do so and, when she touched solid ground again, for some reason, she could still hear Naruto's cries—those horrid pleas she wished to forget…

In a swift motion, she was on her feet again, her fists shaking at her sides. She refused to let her gaze meet the Uchiha's.

"And where do you think _you're_ going, Sakura-san?"

In her anguish, Sakura couldn't figure out at first who had asked that question. On instinct, she knew it couldn't have been Sasuke, so it must have been one of the other two. She didn't answer the question, though—hell, it wouldn't even have mattered even _if_ it had been Sasuke who had asked. She was just focused on leaving, her thoughts again distracted, as she continued walking towards the exit, trying to think of an excuse. Anything to get her away from _him_.

"I need to go back and get Kiki." The answer came flying out of her mouth, almost as if she were threatening someone. Ignoring the almost growling sound her voice had, she realized her answer was not without reason. Kiki had not been at the battle site. As such, she was left behind when Orochimaru or whoever transported them out of that hideout and into this not-so-much-better one. (She had already been to this one, she realized once she had put some distance between her and the three men. It was the one she was brought to first when she had been brought as an "honored guest.")

Her hand was on the door handle when Kabuto chose to speak up. "There's no need for you to do that. I went and picked her up just before I arrived at the battle site."

At first, Sakura saw no reason to believe him but, when Kiki's whining reached her ears, she did an about-face, her whole body not just her head turned around. "_Kiki_!" Until that little scream, she didn't realize she was so worried about the dog.

Kiki's ears perked up at her mistress's voice, and she began struggling in Kabuto's grasp. The silver-haired medic released his hold, and Kiki landed on all fours. She wasted no time running to Sakura's side. But when Sakura held the dog in her arms, her anger returned. This time, it wasn't directed at _him_ but at Kabuto.

"YOU _BASTARD_! YOU _MUZZLED_ HER?"

Right after that, before he could even retort, Kabuto found himself dodging a dislodged door. Sakura didn't stay to see if her aim was ten-ten. Immediately after she had ripped the door off its hinges and out of her way, she stomped out of the room—the clicking of her high-heeled shoes echoed in the silence. It was only when she slid to the ground, her back to the door she had left intact, that she realized her fatigue. Kiki slid out of her arms, wondering what was wrong with the kunoichi.

They both heard Orochimaru chuckle again. "Looks like you have your hands full tonight. You've gotten your teammate upset again."

They both knew who he was speaking to, and frankly Sakura didn't want to hear _him_ answer. Instead, she got back on her feet and shrieked, "OH, I'M NOT _UPSET_! I'M JUST _PEACHY_! _HAPPY AS CAN BE_!" She didn't wait for any response, running as fast as she could away from _him_.

When she got to the room, she slammed the door close so hard and so fast that Kiki almost didn't make it into the chambers in time. In her distress, Sakura didn't notice that as she threw herself onto the bed, burying her head in the pillow. She didn't care if any of the Oto nin heard her. She just wanted to cry herself to sleep. She wanted to forget that the battle had ever taken place, to forget Sasuke's killing intent, and to forget that hurt look on Naruto's face when he realized he again couldn't keep his promise. Most of all, she wanted to stop her heart from aching.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

When the door came flying at Kabuto, Sasuke began to regret the decision of ever continuing that battle. He should've stopped when he realized Sakura had been watching the whole thing. It would've saved him a whole lot of trouble. (He ignored the small voice in the back of his head when it told him that he could've also save the girl all those tears she was probably crying right now.)

The Sannin chuckled. "Looks like you have your hands full tonight. You've gotten your teammate upset again."

The Uchiha almost rolled his eyes. Of course, he knew that. Of course, he knew that his ex-teammate was again upset. He was no fool—heck, anyone who didn't realize that Haruno Sakura was angry now would have been _dead_ in just a few short seconds if they crossed her path. But of course, he didn't realize how angry she actually was until she screamed to the whole entire world, "OH, I'M NOT _UPSET_! I'M JUST _PEACHY_! _HAPPY AS CAN BE_!"

Oh, _yes_… He had his hands full tonight…

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Kiki had watched as Sakura cried into the pillow, and she continued to watch the kunoichi until her loud weeping had finally stopped, signalizing that the girl had fallen asleep. The dog gave a low whine, her equivalent to a human sigh. She really had no idea why Sakura was so upset, but she knew there was only _one_ person who could really make her cry like this.

And when the door gave way, she glared at him.

Seeing the pathetic excuse of a glare, Sasuke just ignored the pup, his attention on the door that led into his room. It was broken, he realized. The hinges were barely holding it up, and the door itself seemed to have taken a hard impact of some sort. It didn't take long for him to put two and two together—in this case, two and two meant the condition the door was in and how angry Sakura had been—and deduced that the kunoichi must have slammed it shut with that inhuman strength of hers. He made a mental note to himself to tell the Snake Sannin that he now had _two_ doors he needed to have fixed instead of one.

His eyes made their way back to the figure on the bed as he walked into his room. He glanced down at his ex-teammate, her face buried in a pillow. Though he had prepared himself for some kind of verbal bashing, he was a bit grateful that she was asleep now. He really didn't want to deal with her right now.

He sighed, sitting into a nearby chair. He thought back to the events that happened earlier that day. He cursed under his breath. Honestly, he really didn't realize Sakura was there, watching the whole thing, until she revealed herself. When she came out of the shadows, he had grown angry, not at her but at himself. He didn't want her to see that, that side of him. Plus, the fact that she had risked exposing herself to Naruto and Hinata when they obviously thought she was elsewhere was not something she would do on any normal basis… She must have been worried, he concluded, maybe not for him but for the dobe and that Hyuga girl.

Another sigh escaped his mouth. He didn't know _why_ he helped her conceal the fact that she was with him, that she was the cloaked girl. Perhaps it was because of that look in Naruto's eyes at the Valley of Death… For some reason, he figured Sakura would never be able to live that down if Naruto were to look at her in the same way… He glanced over to the sleeping girl again. Given her emotional state just now, that conclusion he came to was indeed a _very_ close estimate.

He sighed once again, rubbing his forehead. He could not _fathom_ how the girl didn't see how annoying she was. No matter what he did, he had to worry about _her_ reaction, if she'd be mad or if she'd be sad. Sometimes, he wondered why he put up with her.

When Kiki gave a whimper, he gazed back at the female duo. The dog was snuggling next to the kunoichi and, once she was comfortable, she licked the girl's cheek—most likely a show of affection to show that she really indeed loved the girl. Kiki then proceeded to give the Uchiha a sneer before drifting off to sleep. It wasn't before long that Sasuke's eyes wandered to Sakura's arm, the one that was decorated with that black tattoo-like mark. He sighed again. The question wasn't _why_ he had to deal with her but _how_. That mark, that constant reminder, proved it. He didn't brood over it, though, as he threw his head back, ready to go to sleep. Tomorrow was a new day, and Sakura would have most likely calmed down by then.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

A week… He had given her almost a _week_, and _still_ she was fuming! Of course, Sasuke didn't think anything of it at first—he had just known that a whole lot of breakable things were going to be coming his way and, hopefully, not a chakra-infused fist—but what he didn't anticipate was Sakura completely locking him out of _his_ own room! Okay, so the girl was furious… But it could've been _worse_, and getting locked out wasn't really _that_ bad. He just had to wait until she cooled down but, of course, this did not happen, and the Uchiha was _forced_ to share a room with Kabuto. (For some reason which will not be written out, Sasuke really didn't want to bunk with Orochimaru. And for that same unwritten reason, Kabuto had calmly allowed it.)

Today, however, he was _not_ going to let the girl have her way anymore. It was _his_ room, after all. And he'd be damned if he had to deal with an irate Sakura during the transition to another hideout. As he neared the room, he heard Kiki bark through the door (which remained broken since no one _dared_ to come near the enraged kunoichi).

"Oh, Kiki…" Sakura's voice was harsh and not even a whisper. Had she been crying that whole week? "I really don't know what to do anymore…" she continued on. "Am I just wasting my time staying here? Should I just leave?"

On that last word she spoke, Sasuke felt an unknown emotion. It took almost all of his resolution to stop himself from rushing into the room, but regardless he found himself in it anyway.

Sakura sat up when she saw him, her eyes glaring daggers. Ever since he had tried to kill Naruto, she had doubts about him now. Would he try and kill her too?

He smirked at the fearful look in Sakura's eyes. It was about time she knew how dangerous he was. But there was this small part of him that was disgusted by the look she was giving him. It was almost as if she thought he'd kill her. And it almost hurt him that this possibility could very well be true.

The two just stared at each other, each unmoving from their frozen stances. Kiki, too, stayed quiet, wondering what would happen. She dared hope that a fight wouldn't break out, but the awkward silence in the room was thick enough to suffocate a small child. It took a while, but Sasuke finally left to take a shower. "Go to sleep," he had told her. However, in the few short seconds before he left, Sakura could have sworn his eyes softened.

She sighed, her hand caressed her arm—the one that was decorated with that weird pattern. It still hurt… But she knew that, as long as she had the curse mark, Sasuke had power over her. And being that, he had use for her… He wouldn't harm her in any way until she had finally outlived her usefulness. But for some reason, some part of her believed that there was another reason as to why she was allowed live… Was there something she was missing? She didn't try to think about it—in fact, she didn't _want_ to think about it. She was grateful when a fog seemed to cloud her mind, and her eyelids began to droop.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

When Naruto opened the door to his apartment, the first thing he noticed was that his room was actually _clean_ for the first time since Sakura had left. He could actually see the floor again! His first thought was that Sakura was back but, when his eyes landed on Hinata's sleeping form, his eyes softened. _So she was the one who cleaned this place up…_

He felt bad for her. She was the Hyuga _heiress_, after all. She probably had maidservants to do the cleaning at her house. She probably had never even picked up a broom before. So now that she cleaned his room…

Naruto almost groaned. He had been looking for her all over the village! How could he forget to check right under his nose? If he had gotten here sooner then she wouldn't have needed to trouble herself especially since she thought he was still mad at her… (Plus, he didn't want Neji on his tail for making his cousin do something she had no obligations to do. The Hyuga was almost as bad as _Tsunade_ when he was angry!)

Naruto sighed as he sat on his bed beside the sleeping girl. The little movement caused her to stir. And in a few moments, her eyes fluttered open, and they immediately began to search the room. But when she saw Naruto, she smiled.

"Naruto-kun…"

". . . Gomennasai, Hinata-chan…"

His sentence left the groggy girl confused. "Huh? Wh-what do you mean, Naruto-kun? Why are you apologizing?"

"For getting mad at you… I had no reason to be mad at you."

"That's . . . that's okay, Naruto-kun!" she said as she sat up, a bit relieved too. A small part of her had been frightened. She had thought that he wanted her off of his team. "It was my fault anyway! I made that horrible implication without anything to go on. It should be _me_ who's apologizing, not you! I—"

But Naruto just shook his head. "It's not your fault… I thought the same thing too when I saw that girl's eyes… I just . . . I just didn't _want_ to believe it… I didn't want to believe both of my teammates have…" He couldn't even bring himself to finish that sentence.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata hugged him, embracing him tightly. "You don't _need_ to believe it… That girl… She wasn't Sakura… Sakura could _never_ leave you… Sakura would _never_ betray us… You know that, don't you?"

"But . . . she _loves_ him, Hinata… She loves _him_! She _always_ has…"

"Well then, if you . . . if you really think that . . . and if you _really_ love her then you'll bring Sasuke back for her… Never give up, Naruto-kun… Sasuke will come home one day… And we'll wait together with him for Sakura to come back, too."

"But Sasuke's—"

"Don't you ever give up on bringing him back! Because he _will_ come back one day!" Hinata snapped, her eyes bore into Naruto's. "He'll . . . he'll come back, and you'll become Hokage, and he and Sakura will get together, and Sai won't be such an ass anymore, and everyone can get the happy ending they want! Don't give up, Naruto-kun… _Never_ give up!"

Naruto smiled and returned Hinata's hug. "Arigato, Hinata-chan…"

And throughout this whole conversation, Hinata didn't faint, not even _once_.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

As Sai sat in his apartment, he did nothing but stare at the words he had written on his last mission. Friends…

"_Do you even know what the word _'companion'_ means?" Naruto had asked as he released Sai._

"_Of course, I know." Sai said as he wrote the word on one of his scrolls. "What about it?"_

He put down the scroll, smiling. Companions… Such a strange thing… They came in so many different forms… The first picture that came to his mind was that of his brother, and the second picture was of Team Kakashi—Yamato, Hinata, and Naruto. They . . . they were his companions…

However, his thoughts went back to his meeting with Danzo earlier that day.

"_Oh, and another thing… Did you meet up with Tsunade's apprentice? That Sakura girl?"_

"_No, I didn't…"_

He didn't know why he lied to his superior. After all, what did he owe that girl? They didn't even get off to a good start. If he remembered correctly, they both aspired to _kill_ each other. Hm… Perhaps, he did it for Naruto's sake… After all, he _had_ betrayed the ramen-loving shinobi. Maybe this would be his way of repaying his debt.

"_I don't understand you _at all_…" Sakura said, glaring at the boy in front of her. She took off the hood of her cloak. "First, you're recruited by Danzo to be Naruto's new teammate. Then, you stage a betrayal… And now what are you doing? Are you just leading Naruto and them on or something? Are you trying to get them _killed_?"_

"_I don't need to answer to you," he said. "I thought I owed you a death…"_

_The kunoichi stopped in her tracks. ". . . You didn't betray Naruto completely… But if you continue to work under Danzo's influence and wind up hurting either him or Hinata,"—she turned back to glare at him—"I won't let you go next time…"_

And as Sai picked up his paintbrush, his smile continued to stay on his face. _Well, it looks like you won't be able to hold anything against me anymore, Sakura-san…_

"Hey! Sai!"

"_Hm_?" He looked out the window to see Team Kakashi there.

""Come on!" Naruto yelled out to him. "We have a team meeting! Hurry it up!"

And Sai was out of the room in minutes. But if you were to look around his room, the scroll with the word "_companions_" or rather "_friends_" on it was sitting right below the window sill. And if you were to look out that window then you'd see Sai walking over to where his friends were waiting for him.

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**Okay, that's done! So . . . I probably won't be able to update for a while. I got a few other fanfics to work on, besides **_**Mirrorcle World.**_** I don't know how I want to do it, though… Hopefully, after I finish my three-part **_**Akatsuki no Kuruma**_** series, I'll have more time… Thank you and please enjoy!**

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**POLLS!**

******How should Sakura forgive Sasuke? Should Sasuke ask for her forgiveness somehow?**********

**********Should I make Jiraiya somehow figure out that Sakura's trapped in Orochimaru's clutches?**

**********Should I have Pakkun jump in at another random time and see Sasuke?**

**********And should I have him realize that she is indeed Konoha's hunter nin?**

**Also, we all know that Naruto doesn't meet up with Sasuke again after this, but SPOILER ALERT: I'm changing that. All I need is a mission for Naruto to go on. So as readers, I'm giving you all the chance to voice out any of your opinions. What mission should Naruto go on that places him in the same vicinity as Sasuke? Keep in mind, this will happen after Asuma's death.**


	12. Episode 12

-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, the Elders send Sakura off as a hunter-nin, wishing for her death as a way to weaken Tsunade's political powers. Sakura agrees to prove them wrong, but what she didn't know was that Orochimaru's involved! Oh, god… Just what did she get herself into?

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**Alright! A new chapter! So let's see… Do I have anything good to say? Um… Nope, not really… Let me think harder… Um… Oh, this chapter's beginning is more on the comedic side, but it gets better! And… Um… It's a short chapter, this time… Sorry! But I hope you enjoy it!**

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Episode Twelve  
~Her Anxiety~

"Orochimaru-sama, Sasuke's mission should have been completed by now, and yet he is not back. Should I send some shinobi to check things out?"

The snake Sannin brooded over it for a moment. It was very unlike the Uchiha to take his time. He had always finished with extra time to spare. Never once did this happen before. Perhaps something had come up. But then again, Sasuke was not usually one to be unable to handle himself. And yet, with this thought, Orochimaru's face lit up with a wicked smile. "_Actually_," he said, chuckling a bit. "I have a better idea."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Sakura groaned, using her arm as a pillow. She was back to being bored to death. Yes, she was beginning to forget her anger at the Uchiha. In fact, she had been ready to apologize to him for acting so . . . well, vulgar. Kicking him out of his room and forcing him to share one with Kabuto, she admit, was maybe a _bit_ overboard, but who could blame her? She had been _furious_—no, maybe even more than that. A new word could have been invented just for her! But when she had been ready to apologize, oh, that chance slipped right past her.

When he had come into the room, he had immediately told her that Orochimaru had just assigned him a mission. For what, Sakura didn't know. But after he spoke, she lost whatever courage she had, and she couldn't even speak a _word_ to the Uchiha before he left. Not a _single_ word! Oh, how frustrated with herself she had been! She had been killing herself over that. He was her _ex_-teammate. If she had to apologize then she should have gotten it done and over with rather quickly. He may not have acknowledged it, but _still_! Why she froze up whenever she saw him now was _beyond_ her! So what if he tried to kill Naruto twice? So what if he was Orochimaru's star pupil? So what if he _was_ Uchiha Sasuke? She was _Tsunade's_ apprentice turned hunter-nin, for crying out loud! Sakura knew she should have _some_ self-respect, but really now! Oh, she was just frustrated thinking about it.

She glanced over at her little companion. "You're lucky. You know that, Kiki?" she asked. "You don't have to worry about stupid human things like apologies or even friends! And—"

"I hope I'm not interrupting."

Sakura jumped from the bed. She hadn't even heard the door open. "Oh . . . no, it's . . . it's fine. What is it you want, Kabuto?"

"Why is it that, every time I come here, you ask that?" the boy asked. "Can't I come to check up on a friend?"

"Well, considering that we _aren't_ friends, I'd have to say no. You can't. Why are you here?" she asked again, her fist ready to punch him to a pulp if he didn't leave soon.

"Fine, I'll get to my point then. Sasuke's missing."

That information hit Sakura almost as if she had been hit with Naruto's rasengan. "_What_? What do you mean?" Her legs almost went limp. For a shinobi, the word "missing" in the same sentence as one of their beloved ones was as bad as the word "dead."

"His mission was suppose to have been completed by now, and he's usually back right after he's done so." Kabuto explained. "However, he's not. Orochimaru-sama is getting a tad worried. He'd appreciate it if you go and check things out for him."

Sakura didn't say a thing at first. She had to be careful. Were they planning something? " . . . Why _me_, though?" she asked., watching the boy's every move "The Sannin has a whole _army_ of Oto nin. Why doesn't he send _them_?"

"Well, Orochimaru-sama thinks you'll be able to handle it." Kabuto answered, but then he shrugged. From the way his voice was toned, it sounded as if he didn't believe Sakura was up to the job. "Nevertheless, if you don't want to do it then I'll be sure to tell Orochimaru to send someone else." His words were so nonchalant. It was hard to tell if he was actually worried or not.

He placed a scroll on the bed and then walked to the door, taking his time to close it. "Oh, and no pressure but…" The door didn't close all the way, showing a silver of the boy's face. And on that face was an impious smile. Sakura could feel the shivers going up her spine, the hair on her neck standing. "I don't think you'd like it if Sasuke died. After all, it would be on _your_ conscience. If you refuse to go then one of the lesser medics would have to. And I _doubt_ they'd be as highly skilled as you." And then the door shut completely.

Sakura's mind was jumbled with thoughts. She didn't even notice when she sat on the bed. Sasuke was . . . missing. He was _missing_! MIA, missing in action. Maybe even in danger or even close to death. _But why should I care? If the situation had been turned around, he wouldn't even come and save me. And if he died then . . . one less criminal in the world…_ But looking at the scroll Kabuto had left, she couldn't help but feel as though she had done something scandalous.

"_In the ninja world, those who break the rules are trash, that's true, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."_

"Oh . . . I hate you _so much_ right now, Kakashi-sensei!" She took the scroll, jumping off the bed, and put it inside her backpack. It was a very small thing, she realized. She wouldn't, _couldn't_, leave her comrade. "Kiki! Come on!"

But the dog barked, pointing her paw at her.

Sakura looked down and immediately realized what Kiki was getting at. "Oh…" Even though there was no one else in the room, her face still turned red. If one was going on a mission, one did _not_ wear pajamas. "But what am I supposed to do?" she asked. "My clothes are all worn out already!"

"_Arf_!" This time, Kiki pointed at the sliding door on the other side of the room.

"You're . . . kidding, right?" Sakura asked, disbelief colored her voice. She wondered if this was the dog's new way of teasing her. "Even if I don't die from embarrassment, Sasuke's going to kill me for going through _his_ closet!"

"Arf!"

"Well…" She put a hand to her chin, thinking about her choices. "You're right in that he probably wouldn't even care but, if he does, do you have any idea how _dead_ I'd be?"

"Arf!"

"I'd rather die from embarrassment!"

"Arf!"

"Okay, fine, you got me there, but—"

"_ARF_!"

"Okay, fine, fine… Sheesh, no need to be so loud." She walked towards the closet. However, her eyes kept shifting to the dog, just hoping that Kiki would somehow change her mind. But the miracle didn't come, and Sakura made it across the room, her hand hesitating on the door knob. What if the Uchiha had rigged the thing so that it'd shock anyone who touched it? What if he made it so that a thousand and one swords shot out of the walls and impaled whatever intruder dared to open his closet door? What if flaming arrows shot out and—okay, maybe she was being paranoid there, but he did have a lot of fangirls, whether it be in Konoha or in Oto. He'd be an idiot if he hadn't set up any precautions.

But when Sakura touched the door, nothing happened. And when she opened the closet, again, nothing happened. Okay, so maybe Sasuke _was_ an idiot. Didn't he know that, if his fangirls ever found out about his easy-to-access closet, his whole wardrobe would be on the Ninja-net? (A/N: Get it?)

And so now, Sakura's eyes raced through her options, and the most asked question for a girl ran through her mind. What was she to wear? "Gee, you think he'd have more outfits since he's Sasuke and all…" There wasn't really much of a choice, and so that was the hard part. "Maybe I can wear one of my outfits. I mean, they're not _that_ old."

But Kiki wouldn't have it. The little pooch ran under the rosette's legs and stood on her hind legs, her front paws on a specific outfit. "Arf!"

"You have got to be _joking_! That—it—kill me—I can't—you can't possibly—Kiki, why are you doing this to me?"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"So . . . she decided to go…"

"Yes, although she seemed a bit reluctant at first…"

A chuckle. "As to be expected. Sasuke-kun did do so many unforgivable things to her and her friends… Of course, she'd be less than willing to help him at first, but she is not the kind of person that will not lend her assistance to a person in trouble. And under Kakashi's tutelage, that has become one of her biggest weaknesses."

"Yes, but . . ."

"What is it, Kabuto?"

"Was she wearing _Sasuke's_ clothes just now?"

. . . . .

. . . . .

. . . . .

. . . . .

"It's the boy's own fault if he doesn't guard his own clothes. He _does_ have many fangirls. It would be troublesome if they found out about his unprotected closet."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

The sun blazed down on the kunoichi, small beads of sweat decorated her forehead. Kiki, on the other hand, walked in the girl's shadow, and so the little dog did not feel the heat at all. However, in this crowded town, the Akita Inu was having a small bit of trouble keeping up with her owner. After all, double tasking follow-the-leader with try-not-to-get-stepped-on proved to be very difficult.

"Oh, come here, Kiki." Sakura picked the little pup up, holding her in her arms. "Now, if I was Sasuke and I was on a mission, which hotel would I stay at?" Though it was a small town, it served as a tourist attraction, and so having one hotel was definitely not enough. There were probably about ten in the area. She knew that, if the Uchiha had been in a critical condition, it'd be a waste of time for her to search through each of the hotel one by one.

"Arf!"

"Oh, you're right, Kiki!"

After Kiki was placed on the ground again, Sakura looked through her backpack. It took a while before she found the wanted item. Oh, why didn't she think of this before? Taking the small card Hinata had given in hand, she added her chakra to it and said, "Show me where Sasuke is."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

After picking the lock, the door creaked open. With only the light from the hallway, Sakura found it hard to make out anything in the room. "Sasuke-kun?" she asked, slowly widening the door. She flipped the light switch and saw that the room was empty of occupants. "That's strange…" She scratched her head. "I could have sworn this was the right room."

Suddenly, her eyes flickered to a red spot on the bed. She rushed over to the bed, a possibility of what the liquid was in her mind. She traced her fingers over the crimson stain. Her eyes widened. "Blood…" He had been there. The evidence was fresh, still wet. "But where could he have—"

The mark on her arm throbbed, and abruptly a sword pressed up against her throat. Her heart skipped a beat, both in fear and relief in that she found who she was looking for.

"I already knew this is how you treat Naruto, but I always thought you would treat me differently from him. Since when have you fallen so low, Sasuke-kun?"

Instantly, the sword left her neck. Sasuke stared at her with stupefied wonder. To say that Sakura was surprised by his appearance was somewhat correct, but she _had_ expected that he had hidden, thinking she was an unknown enemy. She wondered why he hid, though. He usually took a more offensive approach in a less sneaky way. She got her answer when she saw the bright red blotches on the Uchiha's clothing and his blood dripping onto the floor.

"You're injured," she said, her hand reaching to touch him.

But Sasuke stepped away from her, suspicion wavered on his face.

"What are you…?"

His hostile eyes took in her appearance, everything about her.

She would have laughed if he hadn't been bleeding. "I'm not the enemy, and this isn't a genjutsu if that's what you think, Sasuke-kun." She had out her marked hand, trying to prove her point.

His eyes soon returned to their normal black and, once Sakura was within proximity of him, he rested his head against her shoulder, using her as a support.

_He must have lost a lot of blood…_ she concluded from his actions and how much blood covered his garments and the furniture. "Can you walk?"

He grunted, something Sakura took as a yes. And she led him to the bed, laying him on his back, so that she could examine his wound. After exposing his chest, she realized that the injury was worse than she had thought.

"What did you get yourself into…?"

"Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing."

She gasped, turning around. If it had been an enemy then it would have been terrible. She was unarmed, and she had just been caught with her guard down. Fortunately, it wasn't a foe. But how lucky she was, she didn't know, for the person who leaned against the opposite wall was none other than…

"_Jiraiya-sama_!"

"Heh, I knew something was up when you didn't show up for our last three meetings." His lips were pulled into a thin line and his face grim. Sakura had never seen him so serious before.

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**Ugh! I hate it! It's so _short_! Sorry, you guys! But please understand! I'm having major writing's block on a lot of my stories, and so I really couldn't find a way to continue this chapter. I need to think out Jiraiya's conversation with Sakura in this. And I still need a strong mission for Naruto to go on. So . . . please wait a bit for me to get things straightened out! Thank you and please review!**


	13. Episode 13

-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, the Elders send Sakura off as a hunter-nin, wishing for her death as a way to weaken Tsunade's political powers. Sakura agrees to prove them wrong, but what she didn't know was that Orochimaru's involved! Oh, god… Just what did she get herself into?

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**Yay! A new chapter! Hm… What can I say in this little note? Um . . . I've tried to make this chapter better than the last one. It took a long while, but I really did try to make this seem as good as possible. I hope that this chapter really does meet your expectations, and please don't bash it. Um . . . actually, no, why did I say that? Um . . . wow, I really have nothing to say… Oh! This chapter is more on the comedic side, I guess. Next chapter (when I get to it) will be more serious. By next chapter, I will have caught up to _Mirrorcle World_ and so we'll be seeing Naruto and Hinata again.**

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Episode Thirteen

~Her Breath of Relief~

It was an understatement to say that Sakura was shocked or surprised, her eyes wider than ever before. She had never expected this meeting. No, never. _Missing three meetings in a row_ should have been a red alert to her, but it had never _once_ crossed her mind. How was she supposed to know that this would happen? She bit her bottom lip, trying to think of a solution. None came to mind as she could only see three possibilities to this. One, Sasuke would _miraculously_ get better and fight Jiraiya off. (Yeah… So _not_ happening by the looks of his wounds.) Two, she would have to fight Jiraiya off to protect Sasuke and _somehow_ get them both back to Orochimaru's hideout. (Yeah, this one seemed a whole lot funnier than the last.) Or three, Jiraiya would drag their sorry asses back to Konoha, and Tsunade would punish them both. (_Finally_, a reasonable one…) And so yeah… Out of all of those possibilities, three seemed to be the most likely. (She ignored her Inner shouting at her, saying that the other two choices weren't even _remotely_ logical or practical to begin with.) But she could not let that happen. And here were the reasons why: Orochimaru would be pissed off and attack Konoha to get the Uchiha back, and Tsunade, Naruto, _and_ the Elders would chew her out for getting stuck in Oto. She didn't know about the next person, but she _so_ did _not_ want to explain her chance happening onto Oto to her shisou or to Naruto. It was just too plain _embarrassing_!

"_Well_?" the toad Sannin asked. "Care to explain yourself, Sakura?"

The rosette could imagine the beads of sweat rolling down her face as she tried to come up with an excuse. Perhaps Jiraiya didn't even _know_ she was stuck in Oto. Maybe she could lie herself out of this. Would it be stupid of her to pretend she was someone else?

"Um . . . you see, I . . . um . . ." She wanted to slap herself. She could come up with wonderful stories in the past, all made up on spot. Why couldn't she do it now? "I heard rumors about Orochimaru stalking around in the area, and so . . . um . . . I couldn't pass up an opportunity to catch up with Sasuke, and…" She mentally cursed herself. Of all times to _not_ sound confident… "Yeah, that's really it. I kind of . . . I found Sasuke just now, in fact! I guess I was so caught up with him that I forgot to check in with you… Eh-heh-heh, I'm sorry to have worried you."

But the man in his fifties was not batting an eye. "Cut the crap," he snapped. "I want the _truth_, Sakura, and I want it _now_. I may be old, but I _know_ when someone's trying—and trying _horribly_, might I add—to pull the wool over my eyes."

Sakura gave up then. "Alright," she said, "But it's a _long_ story…"

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. I've got all the time in the world. You can tell me while you heal your ex-teammate."

And so, Sakura started on how she got lost on her way back to the Fire Country and how she stumbled upon a small village when the Oto nin attacked her. She told him that she had tried to fight before her ex-teammate showed up, and then she tried to run. She was captured and then forced to stay with Orochimaru's group, though she was stuck with Sasuke for most of it. She skipped the more embarrassing parts and the curse mark Sasuke had given her but told him of how she could only watch as Naruto fought with Sasuke when he had found the hideout. And then she told him of Sasuke becoming MIA and that Orochimaru wanted her to check out what was holding him up, and that was it. That was how she ended up where she was, all the while she began to heal the Uchiha's wounds.

Jiraiya's stern gaze seemed to have lightened throughout the tale, nodding at some of the girl's decisions. "But why didn't you tell me when you met up with me that one time? I could have just followed you and pretended to bust you out. Didn't that ever occur to you?"

"Of course, I thought about it," Sakura explained, finishing the last of Sasuke's wounds. In truth, she hadn't realized that was an option until now, but Jiraiya needn't know that. "I've regretted it sometimes, but I've always thought it would be better if I stayed a bit longer… I don't know why I didn't tell you when I had the chance, but if I had to choose now then…" She glanced at the Uchiha's sleeping face. Why did he let his guard down _now_, she wondered. Was it because she was there _with_ him? She quickly discarded the thought. "I believe it'll be easier to get him to come back to Konoha if I stay with him, you know? I don't know if it'll work, but I just have a gut feeling that he trusts me more now for some odd reason…"

Jiraiya almost chuckled at the girl's words. Really… How love struck women act sometimes… He'd never understand how they worked. They were just so . . . troublesome, for lack of a better word.

"But do you think I'll give you the _option_ of staying with him?" he asked, his tone gravely.

Sakura's eyes widened then, whatever jutsu she was applying to Sasuke's wound deactivated. "You . . ." She had never thought Jiraiya would react this way. She had always pictured him as an easy-going old fool. Surely, he would allow her to stay with Sasuke.

"Do you think it'll be _okay_ for me to let you stay with him?" Jiraiya asked once more. "If Tsunade even gets a whiff of this, I'm dead. If the Elders find out then you're in some deep shit. And if _Naruto _finds out then we'll _both_ be in for it. How do you think this will work out?"

"I . . ." Sakura couldn't find any words. What was she to say? Jiraiya had no obligations to her. The only reason why he scheduled weekly meetings was out of respect for Tsunade and obligations to Naruto, nothing more. Why would he let her stay with Sasuke anyway? He probably saw her rationalization as a joke, something stupid and childish. Plus, did she _really_ want to stay with him? In _Orochimaru's_ hideouts? Wasn't it just yesterday when she was plotting to escape from her captivity?

"I really don't know," she opted to say. And nonetheless, it was the truth. She really had no idea how things would work out.

Jiraiya sighed. He wondered what he did to be put in such a situation. If his old teammate found out, he'd be dead—or even worse than that. It was a _HUGE_ understatement to say that Tsunade would be upset or furious. Karma must have been against him.

"Hear me out," he told her.

Sakura seemed to be watching him closely, almost hovering over her ex-teammate in a shielding manner.

Jiraiya resisted the urge to roll his eyes. What did she think he would do? Kill the boy? It was this attitude that discouraged Jiraiya from breaking the couple up. "I don't think Tsunade needs to know about this. It would not do either of us any good."

It was amusing to watch Sakura's green eyes widen almost three times their narrowed size. Had she misheard? Or did that sound like Jiraiya was going to _help_ her? She must have heard wrong. That, or she was in a genjutsu and Jiraiya was already bringing them back to Konoha.

"You _mean_…?"

A stiff nod. "I've been gathering information on Orochimaru for years, and never have I gotten as close to his affiliations as you are now. It will do Konoha a lot of good if you continue to stay with the Oto nin. Plus, Tsunade and your friends can rest assured that you are not in danger twenty-four-seven. Besides the fact, I have no time to waste on Orochimaru as I need to gather information on the Akatsuki. It will be beneficial for everyone this way."

Jiraiya's logic never made any more sense than it did now. Sakura would have hugged him and thanked him if she hadn't known he was a pervert.

"However, let me make this clear. I will _not_ be the one to tell Tsunade about this if she were to find out," the old man stated, his arms crossed. "If she even gets a _whiff_ of this, you're on your own. Same goes for Naruto and the rest of your friends. You need to be the one to explain this to them."

"You don't have to worry about that," the rosette said. She had planned it that way anyhow. She had hoped she needn't speak to anyone about her imprisonment in Oto, but if word got out then she had no choice. She had to be the one to explain things lest things get even worse.

"And with that said…" The Toad Sannin stretched out his arms. "I'll be going now. Make sure you don't miss any more of our meetings if you can, got it?"

Sakura nodded. She learned her lesson. She'll make sure meeting Jiraiya was at the top of her list. She refused to be caught off guard like this once again.

He turned to leave but, when he glanced at the Uchiha, he sighed. "Give him my apologies, will you?"

A blink. Another blink. Her spring green eyes were filled with confusion, wondering why Jiraiya would even need to apologize.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, the boy was sent on a mission, wasn't he?" Jiraiya asked, a bit reluctant to clarify things. After Sakura nodded—and nodded _very slowly_, may it be noted—he continued. "He wasn't sent to kill me, but we crossed paths, and I wanted to bring him back for Naruto, and…" There wasn't a need to explain anymore.

"You mean . . ." And suddenly, two plus two made sense. "_YOU'RE_ THE REASON WHY I _WASTED_ MY CHAKRA TRYING TO HEAL HIS _WOUNDS_?" It was fortunate that the time of day wasn't night. If it had been then Sakura would have woken up the whole village—scratch that, she would have woken up the whole world. "DO YOU KNOW HOW _BAD_ THAT LOOKS ON MY PART? I WAS JUST KICKING HIM OUT OF HIS ROOM A FEW _DAYS_ AGO! AND NOW I'M _HEALING_ HIM! HOW AM I GOING TO—HEY, WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING? GET BACK HERE!"

During Sakura's rant, Jiraiya had found it upon himself to jump out the nearest window. Hey, no one could blame him. If one was dealing with the apprentice of one's old teammate who happened to be one of the scariest kunoichi alive then one knew it was time to get out of there before things escalated to fists and kicks. Jiraiya had been on the receiving end of Tsunade's anger all those years ago, and he _refused_ to relive the past.

Knowing when to give up, Sakura huffed, crossing her arms. She glared at the furniture. "Kiki," she addressed her pet dog who had taken upon herself to hide when Jiraiya came. "Next time, if you hide from an unknown enemy, I will personally leave you with Kabuto to be muzzled again."

"_Tch_, you're so childish. Taking your anger out on your dog…"

Her eyes widened, her fury forgotten. "Sasuke-kun…? You're awake? How long…? Did I wake you up?"

"I've been awake for the whole time," the Uchiha grunted, sitting into an upright position. He winced a bit.

"Oh…" Silence came upon the two afterwards. Sakura didn't know what to say. Should she have taken this chance to apologize or should she just pretend to stay angry at him? What should she do? She looked to Kiki for help, but the dog had disappeared once again. _That's it! I'm keeping her on a leash!_

"You're an idiot."

"_Excuse_ _me_?" The pinkette wondered what had brought this on.

"You should have gone with him."

Sakura almost found this conversation funny. Had Sasuke—_was_ Sasuke concerned about her? She found this a bit harder to believe than Jiraiya not dragging them back to Konoha. "What's it to you what I decide to do?" she asked—a bit snapped at him too. Her eyes narrowed, scrutinizing him. "Besides, you heard him. If Tsunade were to find out, I'd be better off _dead_. It would benefit me more if I stayed with as a guest in Oto for a while longer." _Plus, this gives me more chances of persuading you to come back home with me, but you don't need to know that._ "Plus, if I didn't go back with you, Orochimaru would get a bit suspicious, don't you think?"

Again, not a word was exchanged between them and, frankly, Sakura was getting tired of it. She may have let it slide when they were genin, but she was a stupid little fangirl back then, and now she wasn't so stupid and was _way_ past her fangirling days. She was going to make him talk, dammit!

"If anyone's the idiot around here, it's _you_." She decided a change of subject was needed if she were to get anywhere with starting a conversation. "Just look at the state you're in!" Did that sound like she cared too much? "I almost thought you were _dying_!" Why were all these words flowing freely out of her mouth? "I really thought that you'd _leave_ me!" She felt something wet run down her face. Oh god, was she crying?

"_Tch_, annoying…"

"Say that again, bastard, and I'll leave you for dead!" After this threat, she couldn't hold back the rush of her feelings. She sobbed, burying her face in her hands.

"_Tch_, if you're just going to cry then don't promise anything you won't carry out."

"Bastard!" She cried, dumping her head onto his chest.

"Sakura . . . you're heavy…" For lack of anything else to say, the Uchiha chose to say something he had said to her when they had been in a similar position during their first mission as a genin team. Sasuke couldn't tell if Sakura was shaking from laughter or from her tears, her pink locks sprawled all over her.

"I'm glad you're okay…" Her little whisper almost went unheard. Her hands grasped tightly onto his shirt. "I'm so glad…"

Sasuke almost thought he heard wrong until Sakura repeated herself. He sighed, knowing that this was better than her yelling at him for being careless. And for lack of the knowledge of what to do at moments like this, he just patted her head.

* * *

**Oh, and because I'm too lazy to go through all of my chapters for the definitions, here's a new list of the ones already used in this story:**

**Arigato = thank you  
****Daijōbu = don't worry  
****Hai = yes  
****Itai = ow; ouch  
****Itai desu = it hurts  
****Sayonara = goodbye; farewell  
****Shimatta = shit**

**This chapter sucked… Next one will be better because the next chapter will have a mission for the both of them to do! But I need you guys to help me come up with the mission! What should they be doing?**

**Thank you! I won't ask you to review because this chapter really did suck like crap!**


	14. Episode 14

-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, the Elders send Sakura off as a hunter-nin, wishing for her death as a way to weaken Tsunade's political powers. Sakura agrees to prove them wrong, but what she didn't know was that Orochimaru's involved! Oh, god… Just what did she get herself into?

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**Finally! A new chapter! Sorry I took since the end of September to update this fanfic but, as you all can probably tell, I cannot come up with any good ideas for this fanfic. I don't know what to do for it yet, and I've been really over-thinking this story. I can't come up with any good ideas. But, here's a better note. I've completed my _Code Geass_ fanfic and I'm close to finish _Top Girl_ and _Sakura DOROPPUSU_ (but don't get your hopes up on that last one), so I might end up with more time on this fanfic. Right now, I'm really focused on finishing the ones that will soon be finished so that I have more time for these longer stories.**

**Some of you might be already familiar with the beginning half of this chapter since it's in _Mirrorcle World_'s episode 11. I really tried to come up with something better, but nothing came to mind. Sorry.**

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Episode Fourteen

~Ino's sorrow, Kiki's Plan~

"Why was she crying so much?" Sai asked, dodging a kick from the Hyuga heiress. "It's been a few days since her sensei's funeral." He aimed a few punches. "And we've already caught the ones who killed him." But his fists were met with air as Hinata dodged. "Why is she still so sad?"

"Be a little bit more considerate, would ya?" Naruto almost yelled as he socked the boy.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata scolded the blonde before going over to Sai to make sure he was alright.

"What did I say wrong?" the ANBU Root member asked, rubbing his now bruising cheek. He really didn't see why his words were "inconsiderate," as Naruto put it. He was only asking an innocent question, in his opinion.

Hinata shook her head. "There's nothing wrong with . . . with asking questions like that, Sai… But don't say something like that in front of Ino-chan, okay? You're right in that it's been a while since . . . since…" She sighed as she found out she couldn't bring herself to even speak about it, about Asuma's death. "People need time for the reality to sink in, and Ino . . . she has just started to mourn. With something like this, we can't rush her or anyone for that matter."

"I know that, but I still don't understand it…" Sai said. "She has so many people comforting her and seeing if she's alright. Why does it seem like she . . ."—He struggled to find the correct words—"like she's not feeling better? Like she's not _getting_ any better at all?"

"Gee, we can only do so much, you know?" Naruto sneered which got him a slight glare from Hinata, her face covered with initial shock. Why was he being so rude to Sai? She had thought their relationship had gotten better over the past few months. It would appear she was wrong, however.

"Sai, when people find themselves in Ino's situation, it is going to take some time for them to heal those wounds. Everyone is different, and so everyone deals with it a bit differently. For Ino, it'll take a bit longer than the time she's had. Even with . . . with everyone and so many people around her, trying to help her, it's still going to take a while until she's fully recovered from the shock of it all. She might not even recover completely. All we can really do is give her the time she needs."

Sai sat on the grassy ground for a while. His silence told his teammates that he was thinking over what he had been told. During the months that followed their failed attempt to bring back Sasuke, he had been trying his best to get along better with everyone which meant that he had been trying to understand emotions and bonds more. It was a slow and tedious process, but Hinata and Naruto had enjoyed sorting him out, trying to get him to be more thoughtful and more understanding to people's moods and actions.

"So . . . it won't matter _who's_ comforting her?" he asked after a while, his elbow propped up on his knee and his hand on his chin in a thinking position. "She'll _still_ be so sad?"

Hinata didn't want to answer that question. She didn't want to think of such a possibility, the probability that Ino would feel so isolated and alone during her time of grieve and lament.

"What are you think about _now_, Sai?" Naruto gave him a questioning look, one that he usually gave when the boy was going to say something wrong.

"It's just a thought… But what if _Haruno Sakura_ was to come back?" he asked. He still hadn't told his teammates about what went down at Orochimaru's hideout between him and Sakura. For some reason, he couldn't find the courage to tell them that small little fact. And he kept quiet, not because of devotion to the medic but loyalty and friendship to Naruto and Hinata. He did not want them to feel betrayed like they had when Sasuke almost tried to kill them. Plus, the threat she had given him would most likely be carried out if he let out her secret since telling those two the truth would hurt them. (And he had an inkling of an idea what she'd do after seeing Tsunade almost strangle Naruto for calling her old. In the back of his mind, he knew he was a bit afraid of what Sakura could do to him.)

"Would Ino feel better after seeing her?" he continued. "I mean, I heard that the two had been the closest of friends before Sakura-san's departure. Would her return help Ino recover faster?"

Again, Hinata didn't answer. She would most certainly hope that Sakura's homecoming would cheer Ino up, but she wasn't quite sure about it too much. After all, it would be uncertain the amount of time Sakura could stay even if she did come back. Her sudden and unwanted departure could break Ino again without even meaning to. And that was certainly _not_ what Hinata wanted.

It was then that a laugh came from Naruto. "Sai," he asked, still gawking. "You don't have _feelings_ for Ino, do you?"

"What's so funny about that?" Sai asked, a grimace on his face. He really didn't understand. "I thought you and Hinata told me that having concern for your comrades was a good thing."

Hinata just shook her head, a small smile colored her face. "Sai, what Naruto meant was… Hm…" She wondered how she could explain it without confusing him even more. "Well, having feelings doesn't always mean to be considerate. The phrase could also be used as—"

"Sai has a crush on Ino!" Naruto could barely contain his laughter. "Sai and Ino sitting in a tree—"

"We're not sitting in a tree," Sai pointed out, still very much oblivious. "And she's not even _here_."

Of course, at that statement, Naruto's stomach began to hurt as his laughter grew so loud that he fell to the floor.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Tsunade sighed, closing the report. _Really?_ She couldn't help but wonder. _Of all times, something like this pops up…_ She rubbed her aching temple. She really needed some sake right now.

"Tsunade, this cannot wait." Jiraiya explained, his face grim. "Since there's the possibility of war—"

"Yes, I _know_!" the ember-eyed woman snapped. She looked ready to punch him into the wall. "Do not _rush_ me while I'm trying to _think_!"

If Jiraiya had not been use to Tsunade's irate tone, he would have winced, and the worry in the woman's voice would have gone unheard. But Jiraiya knew her—after all, she _had_ been his teammate. He knew when she was stressed out and when she was as worried as anyone else would have been in her situation. And he also knew that she was trying to suppress these feelings. Why? You may ask. Well, the answer was simple. She was _Hokage_, the person whom everyone looked to stay strong and protect the village. If she was a nervous wreck, what would happen to the village? But Jiraiya only had the urge to shake his head at this. After all, the woman was only human. And humans needed to show their emotions most of the time.

"You know, you don't have to act so strong." he told her. "If you're worried, instead of pushing me away, confide in me with your worries. I'll always be here to listen to them, whether or not I can help."

Her eyes softened, and a smile almost tugged her lips. Almost. "Thanks," she said, the littlest hint of a smile disappeared. The possibility of war was too grave. She could not take it easy. "How's Sakura?" But nevertheless, she wanted off of the topic.

It was Jiraiya's turn to tense. He had not wanted to get on that subject this time around.

One of Tsunade's eyebrows rose. "Well? Anything to report?" she asked, a bit frustrated by the man's reluctance to answer her question. "How is she? She hasn't written to me in a while." Her eyes widened with worry then, and she stood from her seat, her hands slammed on her desk. "Did something _happen_ to her?" she almost yelled the question, her voice rising up two octaves.

"What? _NO_!" Jiraiya almost screamed the answer out. "Of course not! I wouldn't _dare_ let _anything_ happen to your apprentice! I wouldn't allow it! She's fine! _Perfectly_ fine! Safe as can be! Yep, she's perfectly and utterly _safe_! Why would you think something bad has happened? She's _FINE_!"

Tsunade only stared at the old man. She wasn't dumb. She had seen the way Jiraiya tensed. _Something_ was up. Her suspicions were only confirmed when the man started sweating like crazy and spitting out whatever he said as if he were on fire.

"Jiraiya…" she said, her tone dark. If anything had happened to Sakura, she'd—

"Look," the male Sannin started again. He took a breath to calm himself. "Sakura has been doing well, but she hasn't been able to find a criminal from the bingo book for a while already. She's a bit . . . _err_, disappointed with herself. That's all. I don't know why I reacted the way I did to your question—perhaps I've really grown to fear you and your monstrous strength." He chuckled a bit, scratching his head. "Anyway, I guess I was just a bit afraid of your reaction. After all, you'd probably _kill_ me if Sakura just cries once."

Tsunade held her stare—her eyes now held a bit of disbelief in them. When her butt met with the soft cushion of her chair, she still didn't take her eyes off of her old teammate, almost as if she were watching him for any sudden movements that would give away whatever he was hiding. And when she opened her mouth to say something, Jiraiya could only brace himself for the worst.

"Well, you got that right."

"Yes, I know, and I'm—_wait_," Jiraiya stopped in mid-apology and could only stare back at the woman with wide unbelieving dinner plates. "Come again?"

"If Sakura were suffering, of course, _naturally_, I'd blame you." the Hokage explained. "It's in my nature, after all. I trained her, so I've become quite close with her. I was horribly shocked when she was made hunter-nin, and I'm still in shock, but I'm coping with it better each day, though it's still hard to do so. However, I count on _you_ to give me weekly or even daily reports on her so that I know she's okay and so that I know I haven't failed her as a mentor. I know I take a lot of my anger out on you, but I didn't realize I could actually strike so much fear into your heart as to cause you to hide even the littlest bit of information from me. For that, I am sorry."

"Oh, it's no problem, Tsunade." Again, the old man scratched his head, chuckling slightly. His laughter almost sounded forced, and that didn't escape Tsunade's ears. "I overreacted. No biggie."

The Hokage gave a small smile. "That's good to hear. So anyway…" she sighed, placing her hand on top of the report she had just recently read. "Since Sakura has no leads on any criminals and since she has nothing to do, I'd like you to pass along the message that it'd be nice if she could check this little problem out for us."

"Oh, _that_? Well, erm… I'll see what I can do, but she . . . she's a bit further away from that place, and it might prove to be a small problem… But um . . . _Oh_! Would you look at the time?" he asked, changing the subject a bit too quickly. "I really must get going—gots lots of research to do, you know?—but I'll pass along your message the next time I see her! Ja ne!"

"Oh, wait! Also tell her to write to me soon!" Tsunade yelled after him as he jumped out of the window.

When he landed on a nearby rooftop, he turned back to see the Hokage looking at the report again. She looked a bit grumpy—whether it was because of his sudden departure or because of her soon-coming migraine, he didn't know. _Well, at least, she doesn't know yet…_ He gave out an exasperated sigh. _Sakura, you sure really are something… How you wound up in Oto as an "honored guest," I'll never know… But Tsunade's definitely not hearing it from _me_. _That's_ for sure…_

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

When Sasuke came into his room, he saw the pinkette sitting crossed-legged on the bed, Kiki in her lap and a letter in her hand. Sakura was so focused with whatever was written on it that she didn't even notice the Uchiha coming into the room. But Sasuke didn't question it. Whatever she did wasn't his business . . . except the times she went through his closet trying to find something to wear. (Yeah, he still had to find the time to get her new clothes.) But when he heard Sakura sniffling, that "his/her business" nonsense went flying out the window because he knew she'd be much more annoying if he didn't ask what was up.

And yet, when he saw her hands shaking as it clutched onto the letter, he couldn't bring himself to speak a word. It was even worse when she brought a hand to her mouth, trying to stifle her cries, as tears ran down her face. Kiki began barking then, wondering what was wrong with her owner.

"Asuma-sensei . . . he's dead…" was all that managed to come out of Sakura's mouth before a wail choked the rest of her words. "Oh, _Ino_…"

"What happened?"

Sakura gasped when she met Sasuke's gaze. She really hadn't noticed him but, when she did, she quickly put the letter down to wipe away her tears. "Akatsuki… _That's_ what." She sighed when she realized new tears would replace the ones she would wipe away. She _hated_ crying in front of her ex-teammate. "I feel . . . so bad for Kurenai-sensei…"

The Uchiha couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. If he remembered correctly, Kurenai was _Hinata's_ genin sensei. Exactly how would Asuma's death affect her?

When Sakura saw his close-to-confused expression—because, hey, an Uchiha never showed emotions—she decided to clarify things for him. "Kurenai is pregnant with Asuma's child."

"Hn…" That was the closest thing to an "_Oh_…" for the Uchiha.

"I think Naruto wants me to go back to Konoha to comfort Ino," she added, looking back at the letter. She knew Sasuke would be apathetic to Naruto's cause, but she just wanted to talk right now. "He's practically screaming it in his writing. What am I going to do…?" She scratched Kiki's ears when the dog began to whimper. She couldn't leave Oto at the moment, and she couldn't get a letter out to Tsunade or the Elders requesting to return to at least pay respects to Asuma. How was she to comfort Ino if she couldn't make it back home?

It was then that there was a knock on the door, and in came an Oto nin. "Orochimaru wants to see you, Sasuke-sama."

"I'll be there shortly," was the Uchiha's answer.

"He also wants to see the Konoha kunoichi."

_I have a name, you know!_ Sakura wanted to scream that at the random ninja but decided not to. She had other things on her mind, and one of them being why Orochimaru would want to see both her and Sasuke. Did he find out about their meeting with Jiraiya?

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Sakura didn't know whether or not she should be grateful or just annoyed. On one hand, she got new clothes. On the other, however, she was _stuck_—on a mission—with Sasuke—for Orochimaru. _Hm… There's nothing_ wrong_ with that, now is there?_ she thought sarcastically. She tried to look on the good side of things—she would be out of Orochimaru's hideout again, she could spend more time with Sasuke (even though she had quite enough already), and she could enjoy the company of people _other_ than the Oto nin—but it was very hard to think happily with what the mission entailed.

Kiri's ninja were disappearing along the border of the Land of Fire. That, in itself, was already bad enough. Orochimaru hadn't been worried about that, however. Apparently, in the group of missing nin, there had been someone he had been waiting for and needed. And he wanted Sasuke to retrieve that somebody (whom Sakura was not told the name of) and Sakura was only to accompany him for medical reasons. Now, that was a bit weird for the Sannin. Why would _Orochimaru_ send his ex-teammate's apprentice along when he never anticipated any troubles? And if that wasn't strange enough, the Snake Sannin was sending the two to the Land of _Waves_ and not to the border of the Land of _Fire_.

_I wonder why… Perhaps he knows more than he's leading on._

A loud knock on her door shook her from her thoughts. "I thought I told you _five minutes_, Sakura," the gruff voice said in its ever-so impassive tone.

"Almost done!" she called back as she began to strip off her dirty old clothes. She had forgotten why she was in the changing room in the first place.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

The Uchiha had been ready to leave the pinkette there in the store. He had specifically told her five minutes, no more and no less. He even waited an _extra_ five minutes for her, and still she wasn't done. Exactly how long did it take a girl to change out of her tattered old outfit into a brand new one? Perhaps it was only Sakura who took this long. She was, after all, annoying in a sense.

His body became stiff once his ears alerted him about a coming threat—or rather, threat_s_. It wasn't exactly a life-threatening situation, though. It was just one, or a few, that he rather not deal with at the moment . . . especially if they were giggling so loudly and ready to swoon over him at any moment. Luckily for him, however, Sakura came out of the dressing room then.

He smirked. Oh, she'd _pay_ for making him wait so long that the fangirls decided to come nearer. He walked over to the unsuspecting ex-teammate of his who was looking in the mirror still and probably wondering if her outfit was appropriate for shinobi duties.

She let out a squeal when Sasuke wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer to him. "What took you so long?" he keeps his voice low.

She managed a forced smile. "What's up?" she asks, and he gestured his head to the group behind them. When Sakura saw the group of girls, she almost rolled her eyes. _Fangirls… Of course…_ "Let's go, _dear_." That last word was forced but loud and insisting enough to make the fangirls gasp. And with that last word, Sakura squeezed Sasuke's hand hard because she knew he was only using her.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

The trip, from then on, was a silent one. Even Kiki was quiet as she rode along in Sakura's backpack. The little doggie was wondering why the trip took such a sudden turn. Weren't the two just chatting with each since leaving Oto? Why were they so . . . tense now? Kiki didn't like this at all. It had only been a week since they made up on that last mission where they met up with Jiraiya. Why were they fighting again?

"We're here."

Kiki wasn't able to see the nostalgic look on Sakura's face nor was she able to see Sasuke watching the girl, but she made up her mind. Once the mission started, she was going to hook—them—up!

* * *

**Eh… Short crappy chapter…**

**Oh, I'm debating whether or not to make this into my _Top Girl_'s format cuz that's a lot easier to update especially since it crosses into _Mirrorcle World_. Don't be surprised if the next update is really short.**


	15. Episode 15

-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, the Elders send Sakura off as a hunter-nin, wishing for her death as a way to weaken Tsunade's political powers. Sakura agrees to prove them wrong, but what she didn't know was that Orochimaru's involved! Oh, god… Just what did she get herself into?

* * *

**Yikes! It's been a whole year since I last updated this story! I am so sorry, my readers! Giant writer's block here! I am so very sorry! But this story is somewhat back and kicking… I hope… Well, at least, you guys get a chapter. I am very sorry that I haven't updated, but AP Bio is killing me and so is Pre-Cal! Pray for my safety (and the survival of my honor roll status) through these classes!**

* * *

Episode Fifteen

~Hinata's Disappearance~

There had been a lot more shinobi than expected. And a lot more meant trouble, _dangerous_ trouble—especially now as Team Kakashi and Team Asuma (still Team Asuma because that was their name, regardless of their sensei's death) battled their enemies. All in together, there were only eight allies vs. a whole platoon of enemy shinobi, a ratio of maybe one to five. At first, it had seemed easy—Shikamaru's smarts weren't even needed as Choji, Sai, and Naruto took out the first few—but then that's when the rouge shinobi decided to step up their game, all of them revealing their secret powers. And with most of the stemming from the Hidden Mist village, their secret powers included creating blizzard's where their opponent's line of vision would be dulled by the harsh snow and wind. Konoha's ninja were forced to rethink their strategy, lining back to back with each other so that the enemy wouldn't be able to catch them from behind—and if that defense had failed, Kakashi's sharingan and Yamato's wood-style jutsu were able to decapitate any foreign nin that got too close. Many of the enemy shinobi were defeated in this manner but, in the end, however, Yamato was forced to use his jutsu to create a wooden enclosure to separate the Konoha shinobi from their surroundings when the very last two enemy shinobi seemed to strong to beat, at least in the tired and exhausted state the two Konoha teams were in. And it was a good thing too because the two teams had been battling nonstop for three hours thus far.

"We'll take a break now," Kakashi told the teams. As team leader, Kakashi knew when his team was ready to die of extreme exhaustion and a sudden turn of weather. "These last two shinobi we're battling against… They're not ordinary shinobi, remember that. We'll need all of our strength to defeat these men… We'll take this time to regroup and—"

"_NO_!" It was Naruto who spoke out, his scream worrisome and his eyes searching throughout the small space. "Yamato-taichou, you need to take down your jutsu! Hinata's still _out there_!"

"What?" Both ex-ANBU members couldn't believe what they were hearing and who they weren't seeing. They had been sure _everyone_ was together before deciding to put up this defense.

Shikamaru restrained himself from saying troublesome since it looked as though Naruto would attack anyone who would speak against searching for the Hyuga Heiress. "She must have gotten separated from us…"

"That's impossible…" Ino said, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Had she lost another comrade again? Ino didn't know what she'd do if there was to be another funeral… "She was right next to me…" Both she and Hinata had been assigned as medics for the team. Thus, they were to stay together if a threat was to come. Oh, why hadn't she been more careful? Why hadn't she taken extra measures to protect herself and Hinata? She could only blame herself for not securing Hinata's safety. "She couldn't have—"

"But she's not _next to you_ anymore, is she?" Naruto yelled, fury ran through his eyes. "You've been out of it ever since Asuma-sensei's passing! You probably didn't even _notice_ when she was taken!"

"Naruto, that's enough," Yamato commanded. He understood the boy's rage, the fear of not wanting to lose yet again another teammate, but he would not tolerate the boy lashing out at a friend. "Regardless of what happened, Hinata's _missing,_ and we won't be able to search for her until morning."

"_Morning_?" Naruto was in utter disbelief. "Those creeps could have taken her far away from here by then! You can't expect me to abandon a comrade when she needs help! Kakashi-sensei, back me up here!"

But Kakashi could only sigh and look at Naruto with tired eyes. He knew what Naruto was feeling, and he too wanted to search for the Hyuga heiress, but there were certain priorities first. He had made Asuma a promise that he'd protect Team Asuma, and he couldn't just go back on that promise. "Naruto, it would be best if we waited. Look at the rest of your friends. We _all_ are as worried as you about Hinata, but what good would it do to charge at the enemy when our chakra's diminished?"

"You wouldn't be saying that if it was _Sakura_ out there!" Naruto accused. "What happened to never abandoning your comrades? Wasn't it _you_ who taught me that?"

"Yes but, as team leader, I have to think of what would be best for the team. Do you think Hinata would like it if you and everyone else went to look for her as injured as you are now? Are you prepared to lose another one of your friends?"

"I don't _care_!" Naruto screamed. Why was Kakashi against him on this? Hinata was too gentle, too nice, to be out there by herself in a territory filled with enemies around every corner! How would he live with himself if Hinata were to get hurt? Or worse, if she were to _die_? "If you're worried about everyone else then let _me_ search for her!"

"It won't be needed, Dickless." It was the first time Sai had looked up from the pictures he painted on his scroll. "Don't you remember my special ability? To gather information without getting caught?" And he revealed the paintings to the team. "Yamato-taichou, if you would please make a small opening for my mice to leave this enclosure…" And once the little door was made, a procession of mice jumped out of Sai's scroll and left through the makeshift door.

"And now we wait."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

It was cold… So very cold. Even with the Byakugan activated, Hinata couldn't see through the thick snowfall. Just as Yamato had begun to make the wooden dome, an enemy shinobi had grabbed Hinata and taken her far from her friends. Through the howling of the high-speed winds, Hinata had distinctly heard the enemy say something about ransoming her. She didn't hear anything else, using the Rotation technique Neji had helped her perfect to distance herself from the rogue shinobi. But now, she had no way of getting back to her friends—hell, she couldn't even _see_ where they were. She was tired, she was cold, and her chakra was drained. What were she to do if the enemy—

"There's that _bitch_!"

Oh, no.

"Take her, and this time, break her hands!"

"Got it, boss."

Hinata turned to run, but she hadn't gotten very far when her legs failed her, and she tripped over a fallen tree branch covered by the snow. But instead of just meeting the icy wintriness, there was this warm watery warmth running down her face. It wasn't until she saw red snow that she realized it was her own blood flowing down her head. She was sure her vision wasn't just fogging up because of the snow now. She tried to stand, tried to run again, but she still didn't get very far. Was this the end for her? To die alone? With no one being able to hear her screams for help? Would she die here, foolishly and helplessly trying to crawl away from her attackers? It must be her fate, for she was already beginning to hear the chirping of birds and a blue light not so far from her. And she could hear Akamaru barking and his soft, warm fur rubbing against her fingers and—

"Hinata-chan!"

Wait, was that _Sakura's_ voice? Was Sakura _here_?

She heard the snow crunch besides her and then a green glow enveloped her. Snow crunched loudly a bit further as if something large had fallen over.

"Hozuki Suigetsu, will you fight too like this man I've just taken down with no effort whatsoever?" Hinata heard a deep baritone ask one of her attackers. "Or will you come quietly and listen to my proposition?"

Was . . . was that _Sasuke_? She didn't get an answer, her eyelids too heavy for her to keep opened.

"Sa . . . Sakura-san…?" Hinata couldn't even recognize her own voice. The sound didn't even sound as though it had come from her own mouth.

"Shh…" a soft feminine voice cooed. "You'll be okay, Hinata… Just sleep…"

Sleep…? That sounded just fine to the tired Hyuga heiress.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

As they had travelled, Sakura came upon the strangest sight she had ever seen. It was snowing! Snowing in the middle of _summer_! Snowing at the border of the Land of Waves where it had _never_ snowed before! And snowing only on one side of the forest! How curious, indeed… "What do you think caused this?" she had asked her travelling companion but, even without Sasuke answering her, she knew that only a strong shinobi or a group of shinobi could have caused this. And as Sasuke continued into the snowy landscape, Sakura knew that this was the work of the shinobi they were looking for. She quickly followed the Uchiha after picking Kiki up into her arms. (Kiki would have no means to travel through the snow since the snow had piled as high as her chin.)

Sakura was glad that Sasuke had given her a cloak. If not then she would have been freezing in this snow storm. She had a hard time seeing straight because of the intense winds and snow and wondered how Sasuke could see through the weather. But instead of asking, Sakura decided to tough it out. She couldn't let the Uchiha think of her as weak, and so she stayed quiet even as it was getting a bit too hard for her to travel through the knee-high snow.

Kiki started barking after, maybe, twenty minutes into the snowy hike. It was Kiki's warning bark, Sakura could tell but, warning for what, Sakura didn't know . . . until she tripped over . . . _something_—was it a fallen tree branch or large stone? Whatever it was, it was hard enough to most likely leave a bruise… She didn't come face to face with the snow, however, tripping right into Sasuke, her forehead hitting the back of his broad shoulders—it wouldn't just be her ankle that would have a bruise the next morning…

"Why did you stop…?" Her question trailed off when she saw lightning gather in the palm of his hand, the familiar sound of the chidori filling the silence. "_Sasuke_…?" Her eyes, squinting to see better through the snow, moved to the two figures standing before them. How had she not noticed that there were other ninja here? Had the snow really disabled her senses so much? But when she saw the small figure on the floor, the girl's lovely dark hair sprawled out in almost a halo formation, her adrenaline was pumping, her senses as alert as ever before. "Hinata-chan!"

Despite her hurting leg, Sakura ran towards her friend, quickly falling to her knees and assessing the girl's injuries, Kiki jumping out of her arms and starting to rub herself against Hinata's hands. Sakura would have smiled at her smart puppy if the situation wasn't so serious. So far, Hinata only had the beginning signs of frostbite, nothing a warm bath couldn't fix or rather some body warmth as Kiki was administering, and there were some minor scratches. But Sakura could tell that the head injury Hinata had sustained—it seemed as though Hinata had gotten this while falling over—was not just a minor flesh wound. Sakura knew she had to heal that first or Hinata's eyes could be affected.

As her healing touch surrounded Hinata's injury, Sakura almost cried at how feeble her friend seemed. She was _furious_! How dare anyone attack Hinata like this! If her healing abilities weren't needed, she would have returned the favor tenfold!

"Hozuki Suigetsu, will you fight too like this man I've just taken down with no effort whatsoever?" Sasuke must have taken down one of the enemy shinobi, Sakura realized as she heard the Uchiha speak. "Or will you come quietly and listen to my proposition?"

_Proposition?_ Sakura was enraged that Sasuke could think of letting one of those creeps off the hook. And if that creep thought he was getting off easy then he had another thing coming after Sakura was finished healing Hinata!

"Sa . . . Sakura-san…?"

"Shh…" Sakura cooed, giving her friend a smile Hinata probably couldn't see. "You'll be okay, Hinata… Just sleep…" She felt a slight movement in what she believed was Hinata trying to nod her head, and then she went to check for any more injuries but paused when she saw a black mouse situated right by Hinata's head.

Sakura had forgotten what exactly Hinata being in this area entailed. If Hinata was here then Naruto would probably be close by, and if Naruto was here then—Sakura's eyes moved to glance at the Uchiha… No, she refused to think about what would happen. Right now, she had to get Hinata somewhere where she could rest and recover. And only one place came to mind.

* * *

**Sorry it's so _short_! But I leave you guys here because I really can't figure out another good way to end this chapter. It's really just repeats of the same scene, but I really thought you guys might like something like this. Um . . . please don't hate me!**


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